GM High Tech Performance and other mags to be disco'd

[NJ Torque]

Popular Hot Rodding, Rod and Custom, High Performance Pontiac, Custom Classic Trucks, 4 Wheel Drive, Mud Life, 5.0 Mustang, Modified Mustangs, Camaro Performers, GMHTP, Import Tuner, Honda Tuning all got cut

[Blackbirdws6]

Wow. I really enjoyed reading GMHTP.

[NastyEllEssWon]

makes sense if theyre cutting the paper mags and sticking with the websites. if the websites are getting cut too i wonder how much the url's will be auctioned for

[Featherburner]

Two of the three magazines that I still get got cut. High Performance Pontiac and GMHTP. Damnit!

[Paul Huryk]

JFC - I get 1/2 of those magazines.

I hope they give me a refund for all the issues I have in que. Bastids....

[BonzoHansen]

I used to get gmhtp but it seemed like the same thing month after month. I still get phr but it has got quite thin recently.

Damn it camaro performers too

[edpontiac91]

High Performance Pontiac magazine is NO MORE? Just when I get an article in there, it goes belly-up. Man, my bad luck kills everything. Anybody need DIRTY DEEDS DONE DIRT CHEAP! Sorry AC/DC.

[coolmanvette75]

Really does suck, but this is the result of the free internet publications taking over. It's a shame because GMHTP was something I really enjoyed reading as it was one of the only GM mags that stayed relevant with what is happening now (new products, technology, etc).

[ar0ck]

I feel like the only one who isn't fazed by it. The quality and quantity of useful tech articles in recent years has turned into, "Hey lets buy the most expensive part, and slap it on our perfectly new/fresh car" I used to subscribe a few years ago when they put out useful tech articles on 3rd gens, after that I just felt none of the articles really applied to what I was doing or working on at the time.

[NJSPEEDER]

Originally Posted by ar0ck

I feel like the only one who isn't fazed by it. The quality and quantity of useful tech articles in recent years has turned into, "Hey lets buy the most expensive part, and slap it on our perfectly new/fresh car" .

This = truth

its the same reason I stopped watching Powerblock or whatever they are calling it now. Even the budget builds involve $25k of parts and $50k of shop equipment.

High Performance Pontiac was always good for an article or two about a rare original/restored car or cars that people had owned and built over decades. That stuff is interesting but not enough to support a monthly.

-Tim

[WildBillyT]

Originally Posted by ar0ck

I feel like the only one who isn't fazed by it. The quality and quantity of useful tech articles in recent years has turned into, "Hey lets buy the most expensive part, and slap it on our perfectly new/fresh car" I used to subscribe a few years ago when they put out useful tech articles on 3rd gens, after that I just felt none of the articles really applied to what I was doing or working on at the time.

Originally Posted by NJSPEEDER

This = truth

its the same reason I stopped watching Powerblock or whatever they are calling it now. Even the budget builds involve $25k of parts and $50k of shop equipment.

High Performance Pontiac was always good for an article or two about a rare original/restored car or cars that people had owned and built over decades. That stuff is interesting but not enough to support a monthly.

-Tim

Likewise. I stopped subscribing to any of them a while back, and what finally killed it for me is when I saw the same article published in 3 different magazines in 3 different months.

[greenformula92]

So are us guys who are subscribed for a while yet going to get a refund or are we screwed

[Mike]

Yeah the last year plus that I got gmhtp each issue was exactly the same, also 60% ads.

They did exactly one article on trailblazer ss in the 9 years the truck has been out. Just cover to cover 5th gen and c6 stuff

[NJSPEEDER]

When GMHTP started it was just called High Tech Performance. In the early days it was basically wall to wall tech articles without being brand exclusive, even a few articles on 4 and 6 cyls. Back then it was a magazine that I really looked forward to each new issue. Other than the LT1 bolt on car shootout (starring ProjectZ28 as a judge/inspector) it was a steady slide down hill. Only covering a small family of small blocks isn't anything to base a monthly on.

-Tim

[NastyEllEssWon]

Originally Posted by NJSPEEDER

When GMHTP started it was just called High Tech Performance. In the early days it was basically wall to wall tech articles without being brand exclusive, even a few articles on 4 and 6 cyls. Back then it was a magazine that I really looked forward to each new issue. Other than the LT1 bolt on car shootout (starring ProjectZ28 as a judge/inspector) it was a steady slide down hill. Only covering a small family of small blocks isn't anything to base a monthly on.

-Tim

not to mention that online publications are cheaper & easier to maintain. They still charge for the ad space they sell on their websites just the same as they sell ad space in their printed media. Only difference is its easier to cater to a niche small crowd and still be cost effective. Especially since they wont have to send out a monthly rag chock full of ads that barely pay for the paper and mailing fees.

tldr = websites offer little overhead & larger ad space profit margins than magazines anymore.

[Paul Huryk]

Originally Posted by NastyEllEssWon

not to mention that online publications are cheaper & easier to maintain. They still charge for the ad space they sell on their websites just the same as they sell ad space in their printed media. Only difference is its easier to cater to a niche small crowd and still be cost effective. Especially since they wont have to send out a monthly rag chock full of ads that barely pay for the paper and mailing fees.

tldr = websites offer little overhead & larger ad space profit margins than magazines anymore.

Problem is that most people won't pay the same for a web only publication as they would a print magazine - even with more content - I know I won't. Not to mention the advertising cost has to go do for vendors in the same manner. Now if the reduction in cost for not printing outweighs the decrease in revenue from being online only, I can see it working. If not, then bad decisions...

I was never impressed with any of the car mags online presence. As an example, the GMHTP message board is pretty much DOA.

[1320B4U]

^ I agree...plus you have the ability w/hardprint to save/bookmark and archive those tidbits you want to revisit later on...I just view tangible articles easier for referencing.


..plus my bathroom gets horrible wifi signal, so print does it for me.

[WildBillyT]

Originally Posted by NastyEllEssWon

not to mention that online publications are cheaper & easier to maintain. They still charge for the ad space they sell on their websites just the same as they sell ad space in their printed media. Only difference is its easier to cater to a niche small crowd and still be cost effective. Especially since they wont have to send out a monthly rag chock full of ads that barely pay for the paper and mailing fees.

tldr = websites offer little overhead & larger ad space profit margins than magazines anymore.

Ad blindness is not as prevalent in print, and you can't adblockplus a magazine.

Web ads might be cheaper but their effectiveness is pitiful in most cases.

[BigAls87Z28]

Originally Posted by ar0ck

I feel like the only one who isn't fazed by it. The quality and quantity of useful tech articles in recent years has turned into, "Hey lets buy the most expensive part, and slap it on our perfectly new/fresh car" I used to subscribe a few years ago when they put out useful tech articles on 3rd gens, after that I just felt none of the articles really applied to what I was doing or working on at the time.

Nothing for nothing, but that's what GMHTPM has been since the dawn of the LS1.
I guess once new tech rolls out onto the scene, it's not longer "high tech" enough to be covered by them.
Oh well. Only issue I have purchased from the in the last five years was the one Brian was in.

[ar0ck]

Originally Posted by BigAls87Z28

Nothing for nothing, but that's what GMHTPM has been since the dawn of the LS1.
I guess once new tech rolls out onto the scene, it's not longer "high tech" enough to be covered by them.
Oh well. Only issue I have purchased from the in the last five years was the one Brian was in.

When I first got into the game, the whole reason I subscribed to them for a year was because they ran a 4-5 magazine spread on DIY upgrades for 3rd gens, this was probably back in 2002-2003.

[Blackbirdws6]

Originally Posted by BigAls87Z28

Only issue I have purchased from the in the last five years was the one Brian was in.

[ThoR294]

Originally Posted by Blackbirdws6

I don't have a copy of that one lol

[Tru2Chevy]

Sucks that so many are getting cut, but they have all pretty much gone down hill. I just let my 15+ year subscription to Chevy High Performance lapse a few months ago. Even the $10-12 renewal deals just aren't worth having most of them sit around after I spend 45 seconds flipping through ads and a bunch of projects I'd have to hit the lottery twice to afford.

- Justin

[Blackbirdws6]

Originally Posted by ThoR294

I don't have a copy of that one lol

I have a box of extras

[WayFast84]

I'm mixed. All though I wasn't a subscriber I did occasionally get them. I did notice that many of the articles were about cars that were popular on forums and you would basically know most of the information about it. Occasionally they did some cool shootouts with GM crate motors and articles about new tech but I think the problem is that GM hasn't really made anything new that is affordable to an average car guy and the market has been topped out for these cars for a while.