Just got my new copy through the door today, and I cant help but think that it seems to be getting fewer pages in it every month.
Is it just me, or does anybody else think that in the not distant future it may be no more?

 

It's a shame but yeah with the demise of max power and now redline it might not be too long till one of the fordy mags go, I'd prefer if fast ford stayed and performance ford didn't, not saying performance ford is bad or anything it's just I find fast ford to be the better of the two, maybe if the two joined forces to create one mag each month

 

fastford for me everytime

 

Performance ford and fast ford have gone down hill rapidly over the past couple of years,not many good cars being featured,then tend to like 2.0 escort zetecs and shit, a shame really!!

 

fast ford all the way but you are right the mag seems 2 have less pages every month

 

Sounds to me like you've not read the mag for a while then. There's a whole lot more in the mag than just the odd Zetec Escort. There's always a range of stuff from RS Turbos, to Cossies to the newer stuff.

Both PF and FF have the same number of pages, and yes, the page count has gone down slightly in the last couple of months.

By reducing page count, and switching to the stapled, rather than glued spine (saddle stitched, rather than perfect bound) we have made a large cost saving for us to ensure we're still profitable. Also stuff like going on the Apple Newsstand is becoming a new source of income which will also safeguard the mag for the forseeable future.

It would be wrong of me to comment on PF's financial state, but I do know that we're in decent shape, and there are no plans whatsoever to go any smaller, or to close.

We've tried, where possible to reduce the number of 'wasted pages' so you're still getting the same amount of content and value from the mag as before, with no 'filler' (i.e. no listings, or pages that are the same month in month out)

 

I still buy both mags. Prefer the write ups in Fastford. I like seeing the different variety of Rs and non Rs Fords.

 

Maybe that's because there's more to the Ford world than old 16v Pinto powered Sierras

I think they both do a good job of featuring a broad range of cars, from mild to wild, which is what it's all about.

 

I tend to find the fast fleet is the only boring section in FF,havent read it in months,I subscribe and think the rest of the mag is superb,just not interested in reading 2 pages of how somebody organised the fitting of lowering springs

 

told the better half not to bother renewing my subsriptions

as my gut feelig doest feel good

 

Im a fan of both the big ford mags and dont forget who is the major player in ford fair after all, Still waiting for the december issue to appear in the shops of FF as Middx Group are in it

 

as long as there are cars out there, there will be mags to feature them

if you feel that your cars are going to be better in one mag than the other then hold out, but many folk have gone with the first one that asked them to the photo shoot

the page count has gone down yes, noticeably, but you buy quantity when you are buying toilet rolls and quality when you are buying flowers for your mum

 

Still buy both mags each month.
Nice to see all different Fords featured etc.
Also if you dont buy them they could also fold, they need our support

 

I stopped along time ago i buy the odd one if theres something special on the front cover like the performance cars red escort cosworth but i agree alot of very average cars are featured these days just your typical focus rs and focus st and never really understood a price increase for less of a magazine

 

if the government carry on with their plans against the motorists, the mags will have to rename themselves "eco-ford" and "greener ford"

 

I down load it to the iPhone news stand Now cheaper

 

Lol

This month we test the latest range of garrett turbos on our rolling road to see which give the best MPG

 

Unfortunetly, bar Warrens car which is pretty much a repeat of Dave Jacksons car in a different colour, theres not alot in this months mag that interests me.

The mags where great when they had thrashes in them every other month, breaking records, cars with different thinking put into them and out of the box creations. Plus all the mental Scandinavian cars seem to of dropped off aswell. Just like the scene is dying for that sort of stuff these days.

 

scary thing is ford certainly did just that for thier "ecoboost" range of engines

 

i get both, they both can be shit or both can be good. started reading clasic ford as cba with all the new school cars. prefer my rs and cosworth powered stuff.

 

u go national day?? the scene is dead!! i remember when u had 2 book on track months in advance there was loads on track. this year here was hardly out
its about time ford gave us what we want and put that little bage back on the back!! cosworth

 

The scene certainly isn't dead!! Ford Fair attendance is up year-on-year! National Day isn't an indicator of the Ford scene, just an indicator of the difficulties the RSoC have had with events (cancelled dates, change of location etc).

 

I buy Fast Ford each month cause I love Dan.

 

Aww, you are making him blush

 

yeah i think this everytime it comes through the door it used to be much bigger when i compare it to the old copies

 

I dont think the entire scene is dead, its just getting boring, and nobody is doing the builds like they used too 5-10 years ago. Cars like Rolf Klypens RS500, Stians Escos, Martins Hadlands Escos, Fredrik Bredas 3door, Karl Bromleys 3door etc.

These days the mags just seem to be littered with the same 400hp Focus RS Mk2s which are pretty much the same spec bar having a different make exhaust or intercooler to the next. You've seen one you have seen them all sort of thing. TBF its not the mags faults, current economy means not as many people (there are still a handful) are building the inovative cars that we used to see almost every month a short while ago.

 

classic ford for me

 

agree is getting smaller, but still a good read on the bog!

 

I read my fast ford when on the toilet for some light reading and have done for the last 3 years. It was y I got up in the morning, so I could read the next article of FF. BUT this month and last month I have found myself some times just staring at the wall. not bothered if I re-re-read it.

I hope this month is a belter or I may be tempted to the dark side (PF).

 

Good then? I've heard good things about it but have never got a chance to look at it. For the old Fords I tend to go for Retro Ford but it's a shame they dont include Mk3/4 escorts, mk2 fiesta's etc as "retro" despite definately being old enough.

Only started buying FF a few weeks ago but it seems like a great mag so looks like I'm gonna have to sort another subscription out

 

this just reminded me, was going thru a bunch of fast fords and sure I saw Warrens car on a cover. Care to confirm Warren?

 

I buy what ever looks better normaly classic ford as theres still so much different in that but recently that's not been so good. performance ford has gone down since i read it there are some proper scruffy motors in there recently

 

Nice Escort in PF this month. Problem is not many good cars that have not been done to death in the mags & few are interested in the new generation Foci shite.

 

It's got more words and tech in it, but like anything old, they take their time doing the builds, which I find is great as there is no rush to get stuff done and you can see all the steps they took

 

This. Just cos National Day is suffering, doesn't mean everything is. Ford Fair was massive this year it seemed.

Economic trouble will always effect people's spending on hobbies, so it's only natural that things dip, but I'd hardly say it's dead.

Few are interested? Have you seen the size of the Focus and Fiesta ST stands at the shows throughout the last few years?

 

The fiesta st, focus st, and focus rs have HUGE areas!!

They have a massive following, and although the tuning potential is very limited, it is quite costly, and yet you always see loads of modified ST's and RS's!

 

As you can see by my sig etc Im a RSOC man but I speak frankly and National day is in decline unless you happen to live that part of the country, this year saw extreme low levels in passing spectators & traders and vast majority of folk inside the show were simply owners of cars from stands milling about, but saying that I also attended this years FITP which is normally a nice chilled show catering for all fords and the public car park was empty, so in 2012 I will be giving it a miss for the first time in 5 years as will our group, Ford Fair this year was massive of that there was no question and judging by the hours of queues trying to get in from the M1 it spoke volumes for Dans efforts at future publishing and the teams work, My only gripe from this years FF was the shitty location of the RS groups but Dan has assured me it will be a much more mixed & rotational layout for 2012 which Im looking forward too, and also hope silverstone sort out area B17 as its fit for a rallye stage and certainly not any type of show car.

Fuel is now playing a massive part in planning to attend a show or not and is causing a knock on effect throughout the yearly calendar, Mags do there best to keep us in touch with the scene and wherever financialy possible we should support them. but from a club point of view the local and more regional scene is where its at now and numbers are rising big time, Our own monthly Middlesex RSOC meets saw attendee numbers into the 100s during the warmer months as fuel is not a factor for these and when we attended our local Uxbridge Autoshow this year we had 77 cars on our stand and not just RS models either as we welcome all fords which has made attendee numbers go through the roof of how it was 15 years ago, The mags need to re-adjust their focus slightly and tap into this area more which will give fresh input to the readers

speech over

 

If fastford feature lots of focuses and fiesta st's etc they will annoy the old skool like Rod who dont want to read about that, if they dont include them though they end up with a stale mag full of cossies that everyone has seen before.

Hard job being editor and trying to balance the two I reckon.

For what its worth I think Dan does pretty well, I reckon that every copy of the mag tends to manage to have a bit of both, so at least there is something in it for everyone.

Classic ford the first few times you read it is awesome, so many cool older cars, but then the problem is that if you keep reading it, that can start to feel a bit sameish and unless you are REALLY into those sort of cars, so I just tend to read it a couple of times a year.

 

Interesting, what makes you say that? It's good to get feedback

It's hard building a car you know! Cheers though; did you see the thanks in the mag to you by the way?

 

Interesting comments.

We already cover local meets (there's one in every single issue) but they're seldom the type of features that push the scene forward as 'club cars' are more often than not textbook examples, as opposed to new, fresh or challenging cars. So I don't think that featuring more club meets will add anything extra to the scene. There's also a limit to the number of small shows and club meets that actually happen.