Camper & bus boring or what

Every month I look forward to a mag to read and for the last few years have subscribed to camper and bus and its going to be the last . Is it me or is 95% made up of advertisements ? Same volksworld show adverts month after month , yet another G day feature , Calypso feature ,shop tour is just another ad ... takes me all of 5 minutes to read ... No proper stories , think I'll stick to the free Hayburner mag which I love (artwork is ace )

I was in the co-op and picked up a copy of classic monthly ,they are doing a run on restoring a bay features and I have to say it was 10 times more informative that C&B

 

Too true mate.
I stick to Razzle and Hayburner. You never see the same ride each month.

 

I counted how many pages were adverts once. It worked out about 65%. Another 25% was made up of photos which span 2 pages.
Even the featured buses read like a load of adverts for who did the work. Only so many VW Kampers and g'day kombi adverts you can read.

Theres only ever about 2 pagea of things I read and enjoy.

 

gave up on em couple of years ago for same reasons.....Hayburner...it's the future....and long may it continue.

 

stopped reading C&B about 6 months ago as was fed up with it, hardly anything in it that interested me, still have volksworld but subscription about to end and doubt i will renew. normally pick up ultra when i see it in shop and also get hayburner.

 

I've given up on all the VW magazines. If you think the UK ones are bad then you should see the only one that comes out here in OZ, wouldn't take 5 minutes & reads like it was written by a primary school kid.

 

Only one in Oz? There's two of them mate. I can't vouch for the quality of 'the other one' but.... Check out Aircooled Classics - VW & Porsche. About 10% ads and over 200 pages huge!

www.aircooledclassicsmagazine.com

And they're bringing out a Kombi mag soon. UK editor and produced in Australia. 'Kombi Life'. It's a small world.

 

I forgot about that one.

I'll keep an eye out for the new one, hopefully our village newsagent will get it in

 

No he won't mate. It's fully digital and an interactive mag. Not produced in paper - so it's much more affordable than a paper mag. Check out the website. Thousands sold the world over!

 

Going to look for hay burner as liking the sound of that! Have seen a few issues at shows but always had splits on covers so didn't bother picking one up. Have to agree with you on C&B but as the girlfriend bought me a subscription I don't think I'm in a position to moan really

 

Cheers, I'll have a look over the weekend

 

Yep, Camper and Bus was a good toilet read but now it isn't long enough. I find I had read it and still not finished 'sitting down'. I have just had my subscription lapse and won't renew. The editor James (?) was on here last year and said he was going to invite some people from here to meet him to offer some suggestions for improvement but then I don't think it actually happened. Perhaps they are happy to rely on new readers coming along for a while rather than retaining existing.

 

Unfortunately they seem to be aimed at those with a reading age of around 5 (not sure who they are) They really are appalling. Even the pics dont actually show anything thats different or interesting and apart from the adverts and the adverts in articles usually the owner is using the article to sell the bus. They are appallingly bad - in fact embarrassing to read. Please stop buying them or if your addicted write to the ed and tell him what you want.

Might be more interested in reading an Aussie mag tbh. Theres at least a possibility of some digger humour or a sight of a bus thats different from the usual.

 

I have the honour of seeing Volkworld start way back in 80 whatever it was? Used to buy it religiously and VW Motoring too however over the years I have not bothered. Think I picked up an odd copy now and again?

The trouble is keeping a subject interesting even when its been going for 20+ years is difficult.
Worse since the VW scene went big bucks mass market and had TV coverage its lost its appeal to me. The accountants seem to make the call. There are too many mags covering this subject? There is not enough room for them all? I am sure the people working on them still work hard but you have to wonder when the VW pond will eventually dry up?

Of course the other thing is the cost of these mags? If you are aiming at the 11year old kid market then surely you need to reduce the price?

Better off online instead much more interested in real people on here? I dont care Steve Dude from Southern Calfornia has spent $400000 on rebuilding his bus every nut and bolt? Will he be using it daily? Erm no... It was just his way of showcasing his VW services.....

Ooh such a cynical git I am.... ;-)

 

Being an engineer i crave the more technical stuff , some of the features list and mention whats been done to a bus but the only shots they show are arty type . .. i don`t give a stuf reading about someones holiday or the fact they spent 1000`s and bought a bus i want decent technical engine , gearbox ,suspension stuff not page after page of Ads ....... Hayburner is a great read and being free must really stick in the throat of all at C&B HQ

The girl shots in Hayburner are awesome they are definately hotties .... works for me