Returning to Our Roots

Modified Mustangs & Fords to Feature Classics

Posted September 18 2009 12:13 PM by MustangMan
Filed under: Editorials

Classic Mustangs & Fords Content Coming

We've been busy with some changes and we can finally let it all out. Read our blog for more.

For several months now management has been evaluating our magazine and the effects of last year's merger. I've also shared with management the many emails, comments, and personal talks I've had with readers unhappy with the merger and the loss of classic Mustang and Ford content from the magazine (with the classic readers being our largest and most vocal part of the readership).

After careful consideration of our readers and our advertisers it has been decided that beginning with the January 2010 issue we will be featuring an all classic format of modified, restomod, etc. type editorial content. We know this will upset the late-model readers who have stayed with us (for which I appreciate), but we know, as well as you do, that there are several other magazines on the newsstand that offer more late-model coverage, some of which are all inclusive, than what we can do in our smaller magazine with trying to include content for all facets of the hobby (classic, late-model, and Ford powered).

Publishing is more of an art than a science, with no guarantee a certain theme, cover image, or format will work and all we can do is listen to our readers and try to offer the most relevant content to the largest percentage of readers. We were the only magazine to focus completely on classic modified Mustangs and Fords, and we are, now, once again aiming for that much neglected part of the newsstand market. I hope you'll join us for this next chapter in our history and feel free to spread the word to your favorite web sites. Thanks for your understanding and support.

Mark Houlahan
Editor
Modified Mustangs & Fords
Your Source For Classic Ford Performance

Reader Comments:

1. Thank you very much Mark!! I just received my subscription renewal in the mail and was debating if I wanted to renew. I have been a subscriber since 1996 and I am happy to say I will continue to be a subscriber. I will renew for another 3 years. Thanks again for convincing the powers that be to go all classic.

stangboy68 - Posted September 20 2009 10:48 AM

2. Thanks for commenting Stangboy. Glad to have you on board and I hope after a few issues we get back into the "groove" of putting out the best modified classic Mustang book on the stands.

Mark

MustangMan - Posted September 22 2009 07:07 AM

3. I am guessing but I bet the conversation went like this. "The late model guys are enthusiasts but not as committed to their sport as the early model guys, they are more likely to buy one issue on a single topic whereas the early model guys see a wider range of topics and are more likely to commit to subscription." I think myself its true, being an early model guy its generally later in life when you're more knowledgeable and have a little more disposable income then when you were 20. No disrespect to the late model guys, they have some fine machines. Glad to have you guys in the fold.

mechanicalguy48 - Posted September 25 2009 09:31 AM

4. I've been buying your magazine now for 4 years and thought it was one of the best mags out there! At 1st all you seen was MUSTANGS! You had a lot of articles on late models especially.Now your mag is half as thick as it used to be and youve added other vehicles like pick ups,montereys and fairlanes? C'mon now,whats wrong with an all mustang mag? I know theres Mustang Monthly but your mag was much better.Im sorry to see you change your format and think theres far more late model guys than there are classic guys.I sold my 68 for an 08 and what an improvement! Good luck with the new format.

SteveP08 - Posted October 4 2009 06:27 PM

5. Thanks for the comments Steve. The problem with an all Mustang magazine is that there are TOO MANY of them and not enough readers to go around. If we ran the same stuff as Muscle Mustangs or 5.0 Mustang, but offered less pages, which one would you buy?

So, to offer a magazine that offers content you won't find in another magazine is key to bringing readers in to the family.

From your comments it sounds like you are a reader from the Modified days. The content we are bringing to the January issue (and beyond) is absolutely no different than when we were Mustang & Fords, pre-merger with Modified. A magazine that offered classic Mustang and Ford content you couldn't find anywhere else.

As for being half as thick, well, that falls back on the too many Mustang magazines comment I made earlier. Late model owners were choosing other magazines because we couldn't give them enough of the content they wanted and our package size suffered for it. Now with an all classic angle (modified and performance, different than Mustang Monthly) we hope to bring those numbers up and more pages back to our readers.

Thanks for the well wishes and for taking the time to put together a well written and intelligent reply.

Best...
Mark

MustangMan - Posted October 7 2009 10:24 AM

6. I picked up the new issue the other night, and was very pleased to see the mixture of old and new cars. I like the Resto-Moding because certain information can be used for a lot of older cars. I would really like to see articles on wiring up electronic [stock Ford] ignition on the older cars. I have used the after-market systems, and they are good, but sometimes the budget doesn't allow for really high dollar parts, not just for me, but others as well. So, please include some Budget Builds in the mag, using used parts for those of us that want to play, but ain't got alot of extra cash!!!!

slud - Posted October 15 2009 02:40 PM

7. I have to say I am disappointed with the all classic route you guys are going. I love the old and the new mustangs, but I subscibed to modified, which was a great mag. Then you merged. I was mad at first, but to enjoy the old with the new. But now its all classic, that is NOT what i subscibed to. I still have 1 year left on a subsciption to a mag I don't want. Can you guys move it to one of the other mags in the company? Good luck on the all classic format, but I will not renew.

fox-rodder - Posted November 22 2009 11:49 AM

8. I have not been a subscriber for several years, but was so excited by this change that I just subscribed for 2 years. Thanks for bringing back the content that kept me a subscriber for 5 years prior!

zrichardson - Posted November 22 2009 03:07 PM

9. Fox-Rodder, sorry to see you leave, but the classic modified market has not had a magazine dedicated to it since Mustang & Fords merged with Modified. It is a huge market that needs a voice. The late-model guys (and I'm one of them too remember) have plenty of options for magazines. Simply scroll to the bottom of this page and click on "subscriber services" where you can email or call them to transfer your sub to Muscle Mustangs or to 5.0 Mustang...

ZRichardson, glad to hear you are coming back I hope we will not dissapoint you with what we've got coming down the pike for the clasic guys that love to upgrade/modifiy their cars!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Mark

MustangMan - Posted November 26 2009 08:21 PM

10. Nice work! I have been reading 1/2 of my magazines for the last year, and not planning to renew, but I can now read the whole thing! Thank you!

yellow66pony - Posted January 20 2010 04:41 PM

11. Mark,

I had fallen a bit behind in my magazine reading, and have been reading back issues of several publications over the past two week. So the content change caught me by surprise. I had been a subscriber to Modified Mustangs, and I was pleased with the results of the merger because I got to see stuff about classic Fords, which I love and feel don't get enough coverage in Hot Rod. I thought you guys did a good job of handling both areas, though those of us who enjoy late models perhaps got the better end of the merger deal until this year.

Of course, since I was happy, I didn't write or email you, and my opinion was therefore unheard in the torrent of whining and complaining that I've seen in your forums (and which leads me to conclude the classic folks are a harder bunch to keep happy).

I understand magazines are a business, and I won't gripe at you for making what is certainly a sound business decision. With the smaller size of the mag it was pretty much doomed to go one way or the other. My only real complaint about the change is that I didn't renew my subscription to 5.0 Mustang because I enjoyed your magazine (2009 version) more. I passed up a great renewal offer last year in favor of a magazine that no longer exists. Wish I had known your format change was coming.

I'm especially irritated that I had to resubscribe to 5.0 Mustang to get the content I lost, and will now have missing issues, which bugs my sense of order and completeness. It will bug me everytime I look at the bookshelf they're on.

Plus there will be one more car mag laying around, pissing off my wife, but who doesn't have that problem?

I'm hoping your future content makes me want to renew when the time comes. I still have some time left in my subscription to your magazine, so I'll stick with you for a bit to see if it's worth it.

Best of luck to you, Chris.

DocMehl - Posted February 9 2010 10:49 PM

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