POLL: Tell us what you think of Car and Driver's redesign
Ok! Ok! You wanted a poll, you got one. Earlier today we posted about the new design of Car and Driver magazine and how its readers are responding to it. You all wasted no time telling us your opinions. We were actually surprised how split down the middle it seemed. So here we're going to make it official and for the record, hopefully creating a larger sample than the 177 people who wrote Car and Driver themselves.PS: In a strange coincidence, a subscription to Car and Driver is Best Deal Magazines' Deal of the Day today. You can get a one-year sub for just $3.99 for another couple hours. Does that mean C&D is on clearance? Sorry, you can probably guess what we voted on the new design.
PSS: This poll is completely unscientific and subject to an error of margin +/-100%.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
RP 10:27PM (1/29/2007)
Now I'm curious -- what do you all hate about it so much? It didn't really bug me...
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John 10:35PM (1/29/2007)
I lost all my support for car and driver when they only gave me two magazines after I subscribed for twelve.
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jlui1200 11:00PM (1/29/2007)
The re-design looks good. With the data charts at the end of each road test, you can see that they are presenting much more information than before. For example, they list drag area of each car. Their use of a narrower font seems to allow for more text for the same page area. Also, this boatload of info is graphically ranked by category, using color. You can see this in how given information, such as EPA gas mileage, is presented in white boxes, but information derived from their own testing, such as gas mileage measured during their road testing, is presented in colored boxes.
Stepping back from details like this, you can see overall that their re-design is also more eye-catching and aggressive looking. The previous look was way too tame.
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Capricorn 11:02PM (1/29/2007)
I personally didn't mind the remake that much, however I was irked at how little literature there was on say, the ''Fuel Sippers'' comparison (sub-compact car comparison). True the witty C/D writing is always something worth looking forward to, but how about talking more about the car than how you feel? In similar regard, C/D conduced a mid-size sedan comparo a while back in which I remember HALF of a car review's real estate was devoted to how bad the particular gauges were (the way the information needle was designed), and how distracting the particular--abliet minor--design was. If these people are distracted by something that trivial (the minor freaking detail of the needle, they shouldn't be allowed to drive). It was the Sonata's guages that the deemed distracting due to it's detail.
Anyway back to the issue. The new format is new, but not great. I'd rather have the old format with fewer--but much better taken--photos and more subjective reporting on cars. True C/D is known for it's snappy writing that is sometimes the best in the business, but sometimes I would like to read something subjective if I'm reading a comparo.
So, more text please and less random pictures!
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Sam 11:03PM (1/29/2007)
w/e. Motor Trend is the best auto mag! (in the US)
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Jonathan Fung 11:06PM (1/29/2007)
Hmm, I could use a subscription to Car and Driver, but does that BestDealMagazines site really work? I mean, I'm looking at their terms and conditions here, and it looks like they either made a lot of typos and/or they're going to sign you up for a LOT of spam even if you "shop anonymously."
"you solicit up to send you emails"
~Huh? Do you mean US* instead of up?
"you do solicit uo to send you emails"
~Huh? Same mistake...US* instead of uo? IDK...maybe your typist just doesn't like the word "us."
Eh...if it's only $12 for 12 issues anyway, I might as well just pay full price and not deal with a possible scam site. But has anyone actually tried them before?
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td500 11:20PM (1/29/2007)
The redesign is fine, if unnecessary. Too bad they didn't get rid of right-wing dinosaur Patrick Bedard in the update.
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Josh Oliver 11:23PM (1/29/2007)
Who cares?
They are outdated, and will soon go the way of the dinosaur via Internet web-sites.
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iQuack 11:38PM (1/29/2007)
I agree with Josh Oliver, above.
Yes, it's more convenient to take a magazine into the bathroom, etc,, but all the content in a snail-mailed magazine is on the internet sooner.
I'm cutting way back on magazines because the internet has just about replaced them.
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JG Hitzert 11:57PM (1/29/2007)
TD500 your dead on. I got a subscription to the magazine after not reading it for a good ten years and was struck by all the right wing radio red meat in the editorials. You mention Bedard but don't forget Mr. Cannonball Run Himself Brock Yates, he maybe over compensating for his effete name.
They need to cut out stuff like this recent rant from Yates,
"Of course, if we pay attention to the Cassandra-like fulminations of the liberal media, we might be led to believe that hybrid vehicles are our only hope to save us all from ozone asphyxiation and indentured slavery to the Arab oil barons."
Good Lord why do I have to find politics in my car magazine? I subscribed to Road and Track as well and thankfully they seem to avoid borrowing phrases from Rush and Billy O'. He makes it hard with all the Frank Luntz style writing.
My copies of Handgunner and Soldier Of Fortune are less mired in pundit speak.
Other than that Car and Driver Rocks, it still never rocks as hard as Road and Track. R and T has race coverage and better tech articles.
Motor Trend seems like it would be a better fit for the right wing political articles, that or sister pub Hot Rod.
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epp_b 11:58PM (1/29/2007)
Meh...it's OK, I suppose. I preferred they're "classic" design. Their "modern" look seems very dime-a-dozen to me. The only thing that bothers me are the specifications data. Where before, it was a simple, clean and organized list of data, it is now a seemingly sporadic pit-this-where-ever-it-happens-to-fit layout. Oh, and the colors are awful.
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Snutz 12:37AM (1/30/2007)
Wow thanks for the link to the magazine site. Just got a year of Car and Driver, MotorTrend, Road and Track, and Autoweek for like 22 bucks. Anyone else who uses the site you can get 15% off any order if you use QPON15OFF in the coupon box when you check out. Didn't think to read the fine print though, so yeah I'll probably be getting a bunch of spam soon. It's alright though, my spam filter is pretty good at catching that stuff.
More related to the post though, I got Car and Driver up until about a year ago, just never got around to renewing it after the first year. I don't really miss it with all the car blogs we have out there, but it's kinda hard to say no to it when it's only 4 bucks for a year.
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TDIMeister 1:33AM (1/30/2007)
Winding Road rules.
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Brian 6:24AM (1/30/2007)
"Hate it or love it, the underdog's on top."
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barberoux 7:10AM (1/30/2007)
It's irrelevant. Magazines are disappearing and they are increasing desperate to get subscribers. Their attitude hasn’t changed. They still have the arrogant “we know” way of writing that turns me off. Content is better and quicker online. Also people drive in places other than California. I hate California and I am sick of hearing about it.
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Eric L. 7:49AM (1/30/2007)
Car and Driver remains the best car magazine (ok outside of Top Gear) but the redesigned data panels make it harder to read - you have to scan horizontally to read acceleration and performance data - thats more tedious than how every other publication lists it - vertically. Might sound stupid but just look for yourself, you'll find its true.
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J 9:17AM (1/30/2007)
its margin of error, not error of margin
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Jim 8:47AM (1/30/2007)
I agree that the articles definitely seem shorter. If good writing is the core of C&D (although I think that Automobile is more objective), then why not take the redesign as a chance to expand the size of your articles?
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dlm3 11:02AM (1/30/2007)
Car & Driver ? I gave up on them eons ago. Top Gear is a much more interesting read.
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Richard Warren 12:07PM (1/30/2007)
"Magazines are disappearing, going away, outdated."
Uh huh that's why magazine circulation last year about 800 million, that does not count subscriptions.
While sales for the year were down about 4% that's because, so many magazines cover the same venue.
Heard the same BS for book sales. "The electronic book would take over, the Internet would be of more interest." Circa 1993.
Get over it, it's a changed format, it's what you were used to that causes the bitch. Don't believe it? Just look at the bitching when a vehicle changes.
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