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REPORT: Source Interlink, parent co. of Motor Trend, Automobile, Hot Rod, files for Chapter 11
Source Interlink, the mega-publishing firm that owns Automobile, Motor Trend, Hot Rod and dozens of other enthusiast print and web titles, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a Wilmington, Delaware court yesterday. According to the filing, Source Interlink has a listed debt of $1.9 billion and assets amounting to $2.4 billion, and in a statement from Greg Mays, Source's CEO said "This restructuring will materially reduce our interest expense and debt levels."The filing comes at a time when first quarter advertising revenue in magazines has plummeted by 20% compared to last year, and the pinch began to be felt by enthusiasts late in 2008 when Source Interlink killed off Sport Compact Car and Turbo and High Tech Performance, two of the company's most respected – although recently unprofitable – titles. It's unclear how the restructuring will affect the 75 publications, 90 websites and other media outlets under the Source Interlink banner, but it's safe to assume that more titles will likely be dropped, consolidated, or otherwise restructured in the future as the company attempts to right a ship that's been sinking for the last few years.
[Source: Bloomberg]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Mazda FTW! 2:03PM (4/28/2009)
I just renewed MT for 2 more years. (Been a subscriber since 2005)
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zamafir 2:09PM (4/28/2009)
Will CAR, EVO, and autoblog.com still be around? Yes? Brilliant. I've often wondered how the conventional auto rags were going to do in this current climate, especially with the American automotive blogs providing similar and often greater content, and the reliance of damn near everyone on topgear's lap times. I ditched my subscriptions years ago, it just didn’t seem to make sense with the foreign rags providing more in depth articles and the blogs providing everything else.
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Adam Bruce 3:07PM (4/28/2009)
In a world where online publications are replacing offline dollars with online pennies, you bet Source Interlink is taking a massive hit.
BoxerFanatic 2:16PM (4/28/2009)
Agreed with Zamafir.
Ditched the rags long ago.
I read one too many sycophantic comparos that ended in a draw, and said "they are all fine, so you choose..."
Why should I pay for that, news stand, or subscription?
They have become predictable, and boring, and sycophantic for their advertisers or their preferred brand, to the point of destroying every ounce of objectivity.
Thank you Autoblog for providing a readily available, free source for automotive news, and too bad the rags didn't figure out how to compete and make the cover prices worth while.
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Mazda FTW! 2:54PM (4/28/2009)
I kinda agree with what you and zamafir are saying. But for the $20-$25 (CAD) I pay for a year for MT, its GREAT to come home on a COLD Toronto winter evening and find a new MT (or R&T which I also subscribe to) in the mailbox. It only lasts me a few days and the comparos and articles arent that great. BUT nothing beats sitting back and looking at car pics.
12 mags for the price of cover to a club? I'm ok with that.
akboss302 3:45PM (4/28/2009)
I'm a subscriber to the print copy of Top Gear, and couldn't be happier. While blogs can satisfy the immediacy of the drive-thru approach to editorial, there's a certain tactile completeness about a print mag that can't be replaced on a screen. But you're right in that Autoblog is keeping up a good thing, especially the 'free' bit.
petee209 3:57PM (4/28/2009)
@Mazda
Totally agreed. I get excited everytime i find a new MT in my mailbox.
Dude 2:20PM (4/28/2009)
What? No Government bailout?
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bob 2:37PM (4/28/2009)
Whoa, I paid $5.00 U.S. American a few months back for a 12 month subscription to Motor Trend. Hopefully I will not get short shipped because I have received only 2 issues so far. I thought the Obama Administration was going to take care of all this stuff. Is there a Govt. hotline I can call to have my subscription re-negotiated?
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Warren W. 3:38PM (4/28/2009)
The only subscription that I keep is for CAR magazine. Their in depth reviews and cheeky commentary are worth the price of a subscription. I gave up on the American rags a long time ago.
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St?ane Dumas 2:44PM (4/28/2009)
I wonder if another company might be interested to buy some of Interlink publications? Just imagine what if Hachette, current publisher of Car & Driver, Road & Track buy Interlink?....
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Ken 4:22PM (4/28/2009)
I don't see them doing that. Initially it was Primedia buying up all the automotive titles, then they took them all and sold them in bulk to Source Interlink. I think one of the main reasons Road and Track and Car and Driver have continued to do not as badly as the rest is because the company stayed focused instead of trying to offer three titles to every possible consumer. For reference, in addition to the late Sport Compact Car and Turbo, Source Interlink also has Modified Magazine, Super Street, Import Tuner, and I'm sure there's some other import magazine I'm missing. I'm not sure which ones are still around but when Primedia owned the magazines someone who owned a late 80s Mustang would have about 10 titles that could feature tech about their cars.
I'm just glad I have my 10 year subscription to Grassroots Motorsports and occasionally I'll grab some other publication off the newsstand for leisure reading.
Nick 2:45PM (4/28/2009)
I didn't re up Car and Driver. The mag was like 10 pages thick and pretty worthless to read.
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Dude 2:54PM (4/28/2009)
Car and Driver is always good for a laugh. No matter what type of cars they put together for a comparison, a BMW will be either #1 or #2.
Recent fave:
Caddy CTS vs. BMW 5-Series - Caddy too small. BMW wins.
Caddy CTS vs. BMW 3-Series - Caddy too big. BMW wins.
P.V. 5:14PM (4/28/2009)
@Dude:
You're generally right, but that particular pair of comparisons is particularly problematic because the numbers and impressions by other (less BMW-influenced) reviewers concur with the fact that the CTS is neither here nor there vs. the 2 respective segment definers.
I generally look at this site, MT, and Edmunds (I've found this and Edmunds to be the most reliable/least biased (but when it comes to BMW, Edmunds's hypocrisy favoring BMW shows like none other)). I've never really found the use of subscribing to the print versions when most of these sites make full online versions free.
yankee 2:53PM (4/28/2009)
No Storys just adds. got my hot rod for 2 years for the price of one ,can,t make money that way
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scappy 5:39PM (4/28/2009)
From what i remember about the magazine market is that they could give all of the magazines away for free and still make money. The problem is that if they are free no one will read them, so they charge a couple of bucks an issue to keep the readership numbers up and the advertiser dollars coming in. They got paid by the reader to keep ad revenue high.
Gearhead0384 2:54PM (4/28/2009)
OH no not Hot Rod.
Funny thing is Hot Rod has actually has gotten BETTER over the last few years, IMO.
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dukeisduke 2:58PM (4/28/2009)
Motor Trend has been pretty lame for quite some time now. I now take the digital editions of C/D and R&T, and it's still taking some getting used to (but at least my wife doesn't bug me to throw them out or give them away).
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Butch Decossas 2:59PM (4/28/2009)
I totally agree with zamafir
Butch Decossas
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