PC Deputy Editor

[Mattcortes]

To be honest there is very little to actually read in PC now. Im loving the Mini resto but the rest I just flick through. If I look at LRO mag who has ex ed John Pearson and Ben Field does loads in there as I think they are part of the same Bauer group I read that cover to cover. Loads of interesting articles, loads of tech advice, loads of classics and when they do a rest its as indepth as the PC ones used to be. I remember when a resto was done they would bring out a book which showed that it was done as a true guide. Most of the supposed restos are nothing like that now. Some like the Westfield just get pushed out and that was one that I thought would be quite handy.

Considering the fact that they have the choice of realistically any car pre '90's and in some cases later I think its disappointing. I have no problem with what cars are included. A bog standard Nova may be rubbish but its now getting rare and different. The whole idea of the magazine was to have older cars that could be used regularly and if their owners enjoy them then nothing else matters.

[Amy]

I think it's a great shame that Fuzz in particular is going as I've always enjoyed his pieces. Matt Jones's taste was generally more modern than mine, but there was no doubting his enthusiasm or his knowledge.

I'm not going to get into the 'what is a classic' / 'what is worthy of being in the mag' as that's an endless argument about which there will always be differences of opinion. Suffice to look at my signature to see what I drive That said, the Mk1 Eunos could well be considered a classic...

As to who's going to replace Fuzz & Matt, I'll be interested to see who it is. The magazine has to cater to a huge variety of tastes and it's never going to please all of its readership with each edition, but it can at least recognise that its readership does have that diversity. Whichever way the mag goes, I'm sure there will continue to be lots of people who are quite happy to tell the editor whether they like what he's doing or not

[dannyhopkins]

To be honest there is very little to actually read in PC now. Im loving the Mini resto but the rest I just flick through. If I look at LRO mag who has ex ed John Pearson and Ben Field does loads in there as I think they are part of the same Bauer group I read that cover to cover. Loads of interesting articles, loads of tech advice, loads of classics and when they do a rest its as indepth as the PC ones used to be. I remember when a resto was done they would bring out a book which showed that it was done as a true guide. Most of the supposed restos are nothing like that now. Some like the Westfield just get pushed out and that was one that I thought would be quite handy.

Considering the fact that they have the choice of realistically any car pre '90's and in some cases later I think its disappointing. I have no problem with what cars are included. A bog standard Nova may be rubbish but its now getting rare and different. The whole idea of the magazine was to have older cars that could be used regularly and if their owners enjoy them then nothing else matters.

I think this is pretty unfair to the point of being ridiculous, and I am amazed that you don't think there is much to read - 120 pages of editorial pass you by? We feature at least three restos every issue... and fyi the Westfield was a build not a restoration and is still ongoing (update last month). The Jag resto was an extraordinary challenge, the BMW is an amazing find, the Sierra is going for paint as we speak and the 7 is awaiting a loom. Do you read sagas? Or the 30+ pages of tech. As for LRO... a much narrower target group of vehicles helps... and its ex PC editor, I can see John from where I sit in the office. He still reads and enjoys every issue of PC himself. I respect his opinion having started my career on PC under his regime, and he thinks the magazine is going great guns. Have a good look at the latest issue and come back with some specific and constructive feedback.

[Luxobarge]

I think this is pretty unfair to the point of being ridiculous, and I am amazed that you don't think there is much to read - 120 pages of editorial pass you by? We feature at least three restos every issue... and fyi the Westfield was a build not a restoration and is still ongoing (update last month). The Jag resto was an extraordinary challenge, the BMW is an amazing find, the Sierra is going for paint as we speak and the 7 is awaiting a loom. Do you read sagas? Or the 30+ pages of tech. As for LRO... a much narrower target group of vehicles helps... and its ex PC editor, I can see John from where I sit in the office. He still reads and enjoys every issue of PC himself. I respect his opinion having started my career on PC under his regime, and he thinks the magazine is going great guns. Have a good look at the latest issue and come back with some specific and constructive feedback.

Danny, it's interesting to see you keeping up with the tradition of the past 3 editors, at least that I can remember.

This tradition being that every month you ask for feedback, saying you're really interested in what we have to say.

Then, when someone says something you don't like, instead of taking it on board you fire back a major rant (example above) which is basically saying that the feedback was wrong. What was the point of your response? Are you expecting Mattcortes to reply saying "oh, sorry, I was wrong, the whole mag was really interesting"? So you're not really interested in feedback, are you? You just want to hear what a wonderful mag it is, presumably to massage your ego eh? Do you not think it's downright rude, as I do, to ask for feedback and then call the reader's views "ridiculous"? If I were Mattcortes, I'd feel really insluted by your response, to be honest, the sarcastic tone of it does you no favours and will win you no friends. He's not the only one with those views you know - yes, there may be 120 pages of words, but they're not interesting words to many of us, they contain pitifully few facts, and all too often they are spelt wrong.

Get a grip and listen to what people are saying if you want feedback, otherwise don't ask for it!

[Amy]

I think this is pretty unfair to the point of being ridiculous, and I am amazed that you don't think there is much to read - 120 pages of editorial pass you by? We feature at least three restos every issue... and fyi the Westfield was a build not a restoration and is still ongoing (update last month). The Jag resto was an extraordinary challenge, the BMW is an amazing find, the Sierra is going for paint as we speak and the 7 is awaiting a loom. Do you read sagas? Or the 30+ pages of tech. As for LRO... a much narrower target group of vehicles helps... and its ex PC editor, I can see John from where I sit in the office. He still reads and enjoys every issue of PC himself. I respect his opinion having started my career on PC under his regime, and he thinks the magazine is going great guns. Have a good look at the latest issue and come back with some specific and constructive feedback.

Danny, I don't think you've done yourself or the magazine any favour with that response.

Your own words:

Have a good look at the latest issue and come back with some specific and constructive feedback.

Your response is not constructive in the slightest; if you are going to request the same from others, I would suggest that you practice what you preach. To call reader feedback 'ridiculous' is not constructive, nor is to answer it with a barrage of defensiveness. Something more constructive may have to been to ask some questions via PM of what it was that the reader felt was lacking, rather than to post a scathing public response.

The Jag resto was an extraordinary challenge, the BMW is an amazing find, the Sierra is going for paint as we speak and the 7 is awaiting a loom.

The bits I've highlighted are purely subjective. YOU may well consider the Jag and the BM to be "extraordinary" and "amazing", but that doesn't mean that all will agree, and to tell a reader that he should agree is, frankly, insulting. (And to be semantic, the Jag resto wasn't 'extraordinary' - it was after all done by professionals, which of itself is rather ordinary).

This does go to highlight what I said in my previous post: PC is a magazine that has a very wide readership and it cannot cater to all of the tastes at once. However, what it can do is to take on board the feedback it does receive, rather than reject it out of hand in such a hostile fashion.

Amy.

[mr rusty]

the Sierra is going for paint as we speak

..........and therein lies the dichotamy of the mags title- of much more interest to 'practical' readers, as the mag is supposed to be about 'practical' classics, presumeably this means professional painting in 2K in a proper spraybooth.

It would be a lot more interesting to readers to have a staffer do it in cellulose on the driveway or in the back garden and dealing with the vagaries of the weather, bugs, random cats, etc - this after all is the reality for most of us. it was more interesting to see Fuzz's clutch change being done on ramps in the open air than it would have been in a workshop on a four poster..why? Because it was Practical!!

[Amy]

the Sierra is going for paint as we speak

..........and therein lies the dichotamy of the mags title- of much more interest to 'practical' readers, as the mag is supposed to be about 'practical' classics, presumeably this means professional painting in 2K in a proper spraybooth.

It would be a lot more interesting to readers to have a staffer do it in cellulose on the driveway or in the back garden and dealing with the vagaries of the weather, bugs, random cats, etc - this after all is the reality for most of us.

Oh, ain't that the truth!!!

We painted my Jupiter in pretty much those conditions... in fact Danny, if you want a reader's resto with 'how to win a national competition with 30 year old cellulose paint', let me and the GrumpyNortherner of this forum know

it was more interesting to see Fuzz's clutch change being done on ramps in the open air than it would have been in a workshop on a four poster..why? Because it was Practical!!

I agree on that too - many a weekend has been spent with the car jacked up on the driveway outside my flats. In fact, we've been trying to drill a bolt out of the manifold on a Bedford which is in our car park, using only a battery-powered drill. Some tips on how the hell to do that would be useful...

[SEE YA]

Wow get a cable extension out there if you can. I am near the end on my wifes beetle five years now. I started it in a nice garage then had to move it onto my front driveway now.
Its not ideal that is for sure that is why we are moving soon . We looking for a house with space for a double garage and workshop. I am fed up working in the cold, then waiting for good weather to work on the car.

If it not the weather, holding me back its either time or money. I had to wait three months. for my gas bottle to be tested £90 pass or fail every ten years.
The only thing I am not doing is the roof, and respray. I could not do that sometimes you have to leave some of the work to other people.

[mr rusty]

Wow get a cable extension out there if you can.

That's 'practical' for you....I have a 50m one I can get cars in the garden but have no legal access and have to lift out fence panels so they only go in the garden if they're likely to stay there some time- most of my work is done at the roadside and if I can't get close by then it's cable time, the other hassle of working in the street is that everyone wants to chatter and you can't just get on with it

When my Rover (finally!!!) popped it's head gasket in the winter I had to change it standing in ice and snow with freezing fingers, dark by 4pm and no matter how many lamps you have it's never as good as daylight, it wasn't pleasant but had to be done....I could have had it professionally done but it would've cost more than the car is worth, and that's the reality for a lot of people - plus I couldn't bear the thought of paying someone else to do stuff for me that i can do!! An indoor workshop or garage and a pit or lift are unimaginable luxury!

luckily a K series hg isn't a particularly difficult job!

[SEE YA]

Now you know why I am moving