Auto Enthusiast Magazine

[Michael A.]

I just received my first issue of Auto Enthusiast Magazine as a replacement for my Corvette Enthusiast which is no longer being published.

If the first issue is any indication of what is to come, it's an extremely poor replacement and definitely won't get my renewal. Mostly fluff and ads. I'll send them a message with my opinion for what it's worth.

Sad to see the demise of Corvette Enthusiast. Thank goodness for NCRS, The Restorer and the TDB.

[Peter J.]

Re: Auto Enthusiast Magazine

Mike, I understand the dilemma of the print industry and as much as I enjoyed Corvette Enthusiast and all of John's articles, I have no desire to wade through all the other brands of cars to get to the Corvette stuff so mine went directly to the recycle bin along with the renewal request.

[Stuart F.]

Re: Auto Enthusiast Magazine

When I first looked through my copy, I came across a section entitled "Corvette Section". I must have missed something as it was all of two pages long and contained mostly ads. I had hoped they would at least sub-divide into sections, but it seems most of the Corvette content was spread throughout the magazine.

Very disappointed as I had just renewed at Carlisle and have nothing but this unwanted stuff to show for it. Perhaps a class action suit is in order as I'm sure I wasn't the only one to be duped.

Stu Fox

[Michael A.]

Re: Auto Enthusiast Magazine

When I first looked through my copy, I came across a section entitled "Corvette Section". I must have missed something as it was all of two pages long and contained mostly ads. I had hoped they would at least sub-divide into sections, but it seems most of the Corvette content was spread throughout the magazine.

Very disappointed as I had just renewed at Carlisle and have nothing but this unwanted stuff to show for it. Perhaps a class action suit is in order as I'm sure I wasn't the only one to be duped.

Stu Fox

It sure sounds like bait and switch to me. Pretty slimy business practices by Amos. It is sad.

[Pat F.]

Re: Auto Enthusiast Magazine

Guys, add me to the list. At Carlisle this year I took out a subscription for CE. About a week later I found out that they had gone out of business. I called CE and told them I wanted a refund as I had not yet received an issue. I was told that CE did not give refunds and that I would be getting AE. I told them that I didn't want AE. Basically I was told --Tough, you are getting AE. Got AE, looked at it and then threw it in the trash. They may have stuck us in the short run and taken our money, but in the long run, they all will be looking for jobs as their will not be many renewals, especially with this type of relationship with their customers.

[Michael D.]

Re: Auto Enthusiast Magazine

I just received my first issue of Auto Enthusiast Magazine as a replacement for my Corvette Enthusiast...

If the first issue is any indication of what is to come, it's an extremely poor replacement and definitely won't get my renewal. Mostly fluff and ads. I'll send them a message with my opinion for what it's worth...

I agree. A poor excuse for Corvette Enthusiast. I will not renew.

[Paul H.]

Re: Auto Enthusiast Magazine

They were selling subscriptions knowing of the upcoming change and did not communicate that to anyone. They won't be around very long if that's they way they conduct business.

[Gary F.]

Re: Auto Enthusiast Magazine

Man, it is a total waste of money, and a very very poor substitute. I'm OUT!!!

[Gary J.]

Re: Auto Enthusiast Magazine

What a poor excuse for a magazine. Base on what I have read here and on the other forums, they better start looking for a job now because the next step will be the unemployment line.

I am glad that I will be contributing to them being in the uneployment line because they got what they deservied for printing garabage like that. What a waste of trees!

[Stuart F.]

Re: Auto Enthusiast Magazine

This subject was discussed back a few months when word first came out about Corvette Enthusiast's demise. At that time, believe it was offered by either John H. or someone close to the parent group, that the workers at Carlisle did NOT know they were selling subscriptions to a dying magazine. In fact, some of them have lost their jobs in the shake up as well. That's not to say management didn't know then, but I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. Regardless, the new magazine is a poor substitute as it stands now. I have been told it will get better by someone who does a lot of Chevy/Corvette Articles, as they have approached him and other well known writers to do future feature articles. The jury, therefore, may still be out. You're already on the hook so you might as well hope for the best. As it is, it is too big to roll up in your pocket and not worth trying.

Stu fox

[Bill M.]

Re: Auto Enthusiast Magazine

The only magazine left for me is Hemmings Muscle Machines. very few Corvette articles though.

[Jim D.]

Re: Auto Enthusiast Magazine

It took less than 5 mins. before it went into the recycle bin. A total waste of paper.

[Pat F.]

Re: Auto Enthusiast Magazine

Gentlemen: My comments were directed to management and not to the individuals at Carlisle. I was told by the person I dealt with at Amos/CE that they were contract employees. This is not the point, the point is that management knew at the time of Carlisle that the magazine was going to fold and they deliberately misled new subscribers that they were signing up for CE. I do not have first hand knowledge of this, but we are all adults here and can figure things out. Sort of like the duck description. Even if the new AE is the greatest magazine ever printed, I would not subscribed to it based on the actions of the management of the CE.
Just my personal opinion.

[Roy V.]

Re: Auto Enthusiast Magazine

This subject was discussed back a few months when word first came out about Corvette Enthusiast's demise. At that time, believe it was offered by either John H. or someone close to the parent group, that the workers at Carlisle did NOT know they were selling subscriptions to a dying magazine. In fact, some of them have lost their jobs in the shake up as well. That's not to say management didn't know then, but I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. Regardless, the new magazine is a poor substitute as it stands now. I have been told it will get better by someone who does a lot of Chevy/Corvette Articles, as they have approached him and other well known writers to do future feature articles. The jury, therefore, may still be out. You're already on the hook so you might as well hope for the best. As it is, it is too big to roll up in your pocket and not worth trying.

Stu fox

Gentlemen: My comments were directed to management and not to the individuals at Carlisle. I was told by the person I dealt with at Amos/CE that they were contract employees. This is not the point, the point is that management knew at the time of Carlisle that the magazine was going to fold and they deliberately misled new subscribers that they were signing up for CE. I do not have first hand knowledge of this, but we are all adults here and can figure things out. Sort of like the duck description. Even if the new AE is the greatest magazine ever printed, I would not subscribed to it based on the actions of the management of the CE.
Just my personal opinion.

This is reprinted from the Corvette forum from former editor of CE Andy Bolig:
Hi Guys.

This is Andy Bolig, former editor of CE and presently, tech editor of the new Auto Enthusiast magazine. Just wanted to let you know that we are listening to the input that we receive, as well as checking out the various forums. Mark G and others, your posts are appreciated as it gives us an idea of areas that we need to focus on. As far as knowing that the hammer was going to drop, that's just not the case. We ALL got an email the week after attending Carlisle, informing us of the change. Those decisions were made farther up the ladder than us. I'm happy to still be employed by Amos and, I'm looking forward to doing my best to make AE a great magazine. I do believe that it can become a great magazine. We had to put together the first issue in about two weeks from material that we currently had on hand. In the process of putting together the editorial side of the magazine, the ads kept pouring in. It got to the point where we needed to increase the size of the magazine because the ads were overpowering the edit. The ratio of ads/edit was still a little higher than what Larry and I would have liked (many of you have commented about this) but, we couldn't go back and add any more pages since the print order had already been sent out. There was a lot of interest from advertisers, since everyone wanted to be in the Premier Issue and we thank them for their participation. But, the second issue just went to press and we have the same number of pages, but a few less ads. We needed to increase the number of edit pages in that issue, which is a good thing for those who like to read.

To those who stated that they didn't feel they were getting what they purchased, we understand. The team here has considered that many times since the changeover. We've heard from numerous enthusiasts who have voiced this concern. We have also heard from those who embrace the new format. It was interesting to hear how many Corvete enthusiasts also own Mopars! As we move forward, we will be able to put together an editorial package that will be pro-active instead of re-active to the situation. We've got some great stories in the works and, we're excited to be working on them. Truth of the matter is, we're enthusiasts just like you. Also, we're working, trying to do the best job we can-- just like you.

One of the things that we've got planned for the near future is the digital side of Auto Enthusiast. The world IS changing and how people get their information and entertainment is changing as well. If we don't change with it, we cease to exist. Amos has made some tough decisions in the past and some were unpopular. I raised an eyebrow or two at some of them. But, I believe that time has proven that they made the right choice in those situations. That in mind, I'm moving forward, believing that the decision to consolodate all the automotive titles into one is the right choice.

If you would like to speak to someone about where your subscription stands, or would just like to voice your thoughts/concerns about the new AE, feel free to call our customer service dept. at (800) 448-3611. We've always believed that the best business practice is to listen to your customer and, you are our customers. While the decisions were made to combine all of the titles into one, we will still be tweaking the editorial content within that magazine to bring the most value to our readers. Letting us know what you find as valuable helps us to do that.

Let me end with this. I've poured a major portion of the last 7.5 years into Corvette Enthusiast. I enjoyed every part of it, altough sometimes the demands were tough. That was my baby. If anyone's sad to see it go, it's me. But, I intend on working just as hard on this new title and, I think that it can be just as rewarding and exciting. I hope you'll agree. I hope we'll find out together.

Thanks,

Andy

Like Stuart mentioned above, maybe we should give them the benefit of the doubt and see if the content gets any better.
Regards
Roy

[Michael D.]

Re: Auto Enthusiast Magazine

...Like Stuart mentioned above, maybe we should give them the benefit of the doubt and see if the content gets any better...

No disrespect, but it will need to get much better by the next issue.