Max ed
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Registered: 3rd Nov 06
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Firstly hello. Having spoken to one of your members over the past few days I thought it would be a good idea to come on here and make myself known as the new editor of Max. Apologies for not doing this earlier but the past couple of months have been filled with company politics and process. The good news is that I can now get knee deep in the most important thing in the world to me - turning Max into an up to date modified car mag that can attract a large audience again.
Now I know many of you feel let down by Max and it is for that reason that I wanted to talk to you. I am really keen to get your opinions on what a modified car magazine should offer in 2007. It would be great if we could keep comments as constructive as possible and by that I mean sure say what you don't like but try and offer a way of making it better. And if there is anything you do like please let me know so I can keep it for you. Email your thoughts to simon.penson@emap.com. Cheers guys.
[Edited on 06-11-2006 by Ian]
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deano87
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Registered: 21st Oct 06
Location: Bedfordshire Drives: Ford Fiesta
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Juxtaposition with totally original cars, so I can get in it 
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ed
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Registered: 10th Sep 03
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It's too expensive
There are too many adverts in it
There are too many naked women in it
The way the magazine is written suggests it's for idiots
Why does Tim Westwood have a section in it?
On the good side though, some of the European show coverage was good when i used to read it and a lot of the foriegn feature cars were good. Though a lot of the cars from the UK are too 'look at me' to be respected.
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L30 SCT
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Registered: 27th Nov 05
Location: aberdeen
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to be honest i havent bought it for about a year now. mainly due to it being filled with bodykitted cars. i would say 80% of the members on here are more in to suttle looking cars. i am sure an event of some sort could be arranged though.
p.s it is hooring expensive.
[Edited on 03-11-2006 by L30 SCT]
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Cybermonkey
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Registered: 22nd Sep 02
Location: Sydney, Australia
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welcome 
i am glad that the modifying scene is now turning away from glaring bodykits and cheap stick-on tat, with people focusing on actually making their cars look good with neat subtle touches, bodykits that follow the lines of the car etc etc. what is also good to see is the larger following for PROPER performance enhancing mods. im not talking about the heat sucking cone filters or 6" wide elephant dick sticking from the rear bumper, but the decent, well made performance parts that are now easily available for practically every make and model. the auz scene seems to follow quite closely to the UK scene.
hope this helps, steer the mag away from that fibreglass jap-influenced tat that used to grace the magazine!!
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jazzer2k3
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Registered: 24th May 03
Location: **SHEFFIELD**
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Don't steal photo's from beardy
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L30 SCT
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Registered: 27th Nov 05
Location: aberdeen
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elephant dick 
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antscorsa
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Registered: 11th Aug 02
Location: london
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the writing is apauling, too many themed pages that are OTT.
the cars and their mod details arent clear and half the information is blatanly made up.
2 many similar cars with same old mods just diff paint.
[Edited on 03-11-2006 by antscorsa]
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Daimo B
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Registered: 20th Mar 00
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With all due respect, Max Power lost it roots years ago.
Redline and the other magazines followed Max Powers way by going for outright sales and making money and getting into the "bad boy" reputation. Something Redline promised would never happen, yet it has... Its about making money now, and not about the modified cars, which is what it all used to be about.
Max Power gives real modified car owners a really bad name. Mention modifed cars and most normal folk think of Max Power. Which comes with Neons, massive exhaust, loud sound systems, racing around the local one ways. Its main audience is between 15-20. Most people over this age braket will go onto a more technical magazine.
Its far too aimed towards creating (what most website users) chavs and boyracers and the whole "cool" image, yet the true image it portraits is really bad. It shows modified cars doing all the things that really wind people up (I.E General public and police). All blokes are up for nice ladies and such, but to have it plastered throughout the magazine is a joke. I've heard many a time Max Power being referred to as a "soft porn mag"..... What about the cars???
You do feature some very good cars, things from the USA, Japan etc, but miss out on the true "street" modified cars from those people who don't own a business and are out just to make a nice car (or gain social status or attention). Those "street" cars that are featured, are usually very distastefull, ram-raided Halfords and Ripspeed, and never usually look that great. SO its not as if your choosing good UK cars (Main features, yeah sometimes, but those 2 page feature jobbies at the back were always awful).
If you say... Take Fast Ford, or Total Vauxhall, or one of the BMW mags... How many of those do you see plastered in women and adverts covering a goo 70% of the magazine? ITs still about the cars, the modifications, the subtle, the wild, but its still about the cars..
Max Power is about an image now, look at Jamie Shaw and pimp my ride, yoooooo...
Bring back the days of max power when they used to feature quality cars, not 1/4 the amount of women (I'd buy a grot mag if i wanted that), and no-where near the amount of adverts (which creates big money, again, about the money, and not the cars).
This is jsut off the top of my head, some will agree, some won't. I can do a more constructive and informative reply if you want me to send something proper to your email address. Please let me know.
(Active Modified car user, been into cars since the 90's, did read Max Power in its golden years (late 90's and VERY early 2000's). After roughly 2001-2002, it went all bad boy, all the stuff i said above, and many true car enthusiasts stopped buying, but your figures went up massivly as you opened the younger age braket market).
Damien
[Edited on 03-11-2006 by VXR]
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Iain M
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Registered: 18th Aug 05
Location: Wigan - Drives 272bhp corsa ZLET
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bad points
- its all gone pete CHAVY
no mention of any of the car clubs that turned up at trax.
not enough genuine good cars for the price of the mag
Good points
- good to read whist on the toilet
things to improve
show genuine work in progress pictures with decent writeups
keep max garage
show less cars that are in ya face fiberglassed carts and more of ones that are more in line with what average joe can actually do.
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Max ed
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Registered: 3rd Nov 06
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This is great to hear guys as my first priority is to turn Max into an up to date mag that is about cars first and foremost (and subtle less chavvy cars): globally incredible and sometimes surprising modified cars - so you can take inspiration from them. what about types of cars - do you want a mag full of corsas or would you be interested in gaining inspiration from all genres of modifying...
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Teddy
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Registered: 19th Jul 04
Location: Northampton Drives: VW Bora 1.9TDi pd130
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I think as an editor you need to access is your market.
The market the magazine is aimed at as stated above is late teens early twenties purely due to content i would think.
You need to ask yourself if you want to continue attacking this marketplace (in which case sales optimum performance is at an all time high) or whether you want to appeal to the more mature reader....
If the later is the wish of the publishers then the whole thing would need to be redesigned, the selection of cars would need to be changed.
Problem is with this now highly competative market of which Max power was a founder in actual fact! In order for you to make money in this sector will be hard because of such magazines as Retro Cars, PCC etc...
There is pretty much a magazine for any genre of car interest and if your going to change it will be a bumpy ride for you!
I know you have a job to do - but the thought of me even reading Max power makes me wince.
I personally speaking have never been a "kitted" fan, i have always concentrated on performance and i dont think that is something Max Power could ever offer me.
In the same token its taken balls to come here and "open the floor" Just hope my constuctive reply does prove useful in helping to direct the magazine somewhat.
[Edited on 03-11-2006 by Teddy]
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Jonny P
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Registered: 11th Dec 04
Location: Merseyside Drives: Civic Type R EP3
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quote:
Originally posted by Max ed
This is great to hear guys as my first priority is to turn Max into an up to date mag that is about cars first and foremost (and subtle less chavvy cars): globally incredible and sometimes surprising modified cars - so you can take inspiration from them. what about types of cars - do you want a mag full of corsas or would you be interested in gaining inspiration from all genres of modifying...
Obviously the latter. Even though this is a corsa forum, a lot of the people on here have moved away from their old corsa's so they would want to read it for the other types of cars. Some people may not even want to modify their car but want to look at others etc etc.
I used to buy max power when i was 14/15. I know its only a few years but im 17 now and i buy Total Vauxhall and PPC. That is what interests me, i know i can't afford the big enine builds etc etc but i like to think in a few years i would be able to afford it and looking at those types of magazines helps me make my mind up.
Also, one of the good points i found of Max Power is the techincal help bit at the back. If you made that a bit more thorough and thought it through a bit more im sure a lot of people would buy it to read that bit aswell as the other bit of the mag, for example, how to service your car. I can probably say that 90% of people who read max power wouldn't know how to service their car, therefore it would attract those people to buy the car and you then expand the range of people that you would appeal to.
Sorry for the essay and i may have rambled but thought it might help!
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antscorsa
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Registered: 11th Aug 02
Location: london
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my fave magazine at the moment is banzau, awesome cars with superb write ups, proper techincal facts and a mixture of cars.
more of an adult read aswell and no women as theirs no need for them in a car magazine!!
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Daimo B
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Registered: 20th Mar 00
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All types. Corsa B has been done to death to be honest, but if a great example comes up, and say its been done by someone at home with no previous knowledge, and they have literally done 95% of the things themselves, AND the car is of a good quality, these kinda cars should be looked at being featured over some 17 yo who's got a Saxo, bunged on the cheapest biggest bodykit, slapped some blingy chrome wheels, lexus light, 8" exhaust, then gets a feature.......
More research needs to be put into the cars. Although the cars from other countries usually are of a high quality. I loved the recent(ish) track prepped skyline, but loathed the chavvy style write up.
Problem is, you say about bringing it up to date, but who do you want your market to be?
Your current magazine is pefect and fine, IF your one of these chavvy boyracer types, drives with 1 hand, baseball cap, neon washer jets, hanging down the local McDonalds every night. If thats your wanted market, stick with what you've got...
If you want to attrack real car enthusiasts who actually love modified cars, the shows, the culture, the social life, then you need drastic changes. Get rid of a lot of the women, a lot of the chav type features (like that guy with a Pistol holder in the armrest, what kind of image is that putting out to young kids, hell, lets all be wannabe gangsters with popguns in our cars..... not very bright..). Bring back full magaziness with cars, maybe the odd model or 2, interviews with top tuners, maybe even introduce a motorsport type section. You need to look at what a car clubs audience would want, and not what a horney foul mouthed school leaver wants (please note, im not saying all teens are like this at all, just a majority, or maybe its just because they are so in your face it stands out).
one other thing, Max Power has done it from day 1, over inflated pub talk power figures..
Adding an induction kit and exhaust to a 1.1 Saxo will not give it 20bhp more, nor increase its top speed, while reducing its 0-60mph by 3 seconds, while its full of ICE and 17" wheels....
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All Torque
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Registered: 17th Nov 05
Location: Milton Keynes Drives: Ford Focus TDCi
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Redline is FAR better. At least its aimed at performance mods and not stuck on tat.
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ClaireF
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Registered: 1st Nov 05
Location: hurlford, scotland Drives: corsa again
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i think you also need to make it so girls will read it has there is alot of ladies that are also interested in cars and making it look nice etc
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All Torque
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Registered: 17th Nov 05
Location: Milton Keynes Drives: Ford Focus TDCi
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[Edited on 03-11-2006 by mav]
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All Torque
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Registered: 17th Nov 05
Location: Milton Keynes Drives: Ford Focus TDCi
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[Edited on 03-11-2006 by mav]
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Robin
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Registered: 7th Jan 04
Location: Northants Drives: Clio 182 Cup
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to be honest, I think Max caters for it's area pretty well. it's NOT PPC, or Track and Race Car mag, it's aimed at the heavily modified sector, which it does cover.
I don't buy it, because that's not my scene, but I'd rather Max stayed that way, so the other mags don't get filled with it.
I think you'd lose a lot of your target market by changing it to a magazine filled with subtle cars and stripped out track day/weekend cars.
I agree with Ed, and Damien, it needs less ladies, and more cars.
also, less 'we did this, it was illegal, but it's so cool' type stuff, and maybe a bit more 'how to build a fiberglass install' stuff, still for the target market, but a bit more tech, so some of the target market are getting a bit more than they normally do.
You might have done that already though, it's been a while since I bought it.
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Daimo B
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Registered: 20th Mar 00
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Funny as hell those lot were....
BUT
Its not going to help the editor if thats all you have to add. You've got no chance of him paying any attention if you just rip the mikey....
If you want to change it, write what you think, but doing it constructivly.
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JM_16v
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Registered: 17th Oct 05
Location: Essex Drives: GLC63S
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was waiting for a beardy comment
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SXi_Tim
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Registered: 11th Mar 03
Location: South Yorkshire Drives: RS3, LET B
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on a serious note though Daimo has explained it all really, it all depends on what kind of audience you are after.
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All Torque
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Registered: 17th Nov 05
Location: Milton Keynes Drives: Ford Focus TDCi
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No thats what I mean mate, MAX POWER has become the butt of jokes in the Car industry.
Burning speed cameras? Drifting down the A1? max Power at Ace Cafe (giving ace a BAD NAME)? 
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SteveW
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Registered: 15th Jul 02
Location: Up in the clouds
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about damn time one of you Maxpower guys got on this forum properly
everyone that has replied on this thread have kinda put it to a tee already.
Less OTT cars.. although the C300 in last months (maybe longer ag) was awesome. The guy from Norway or somewhere who shipped his car to USA to get it done.
That was very nice... I know Millsy had been on about trying to bring the mag back to where it started. Performance but i havnt spoken to him in a few months. I hope he stil works for the mag.....
the bad points i can think of are..
The features where you "promote" dangerous driving. i know you dont do it much but the Drifting on the A1 was stupid. as was the Midnight street racing from a year back.
that would just make silly kids do the same and end up hurting themselves or others...
so really.. Performance cars that both look good and go well are the way forward.
also some more ICE cars would be nice.
AND BRING BACK MAXLONDON SHOW... was the best show of the year for me and my mates..
Cheers
Steve
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