Yesterday I received my May 2017 copy of Hemmings Sport & Exotic Car, and with that issue came the very sad announcement from Dave LaChance, Editor, that this was to be the final printed copy of Sports & Exotic Car that I would receive, that Hemmings was terminating publication of this magazine after a 12 year publication run. I have attached Dave’s final Editor’s Comments, a copy of the formal Hemmings’ notification letter of publication termination, and a copy of the final magazine cover.
Dave detailed that the magazine had grown over 12 years to approximate 55,000 “enthusiastic” subscribers with an enviable renewal rate “that’s the envy of the industry”. He also described that the demographics of the subscribers was enviable, young,–58% between the ages of 39 and 64–well educated, and with the highest median income of all of the Hemmings titles.
I have known that print media is and has been under enormous financial and distribution stresses after the advent of the internet, but I have continued to especially enjoy some print media, especially the unique features of Hemmings Sport & Exotic Car. I will truly miss it, since I especially looked forward to receiving it much like I enjoyed receiving the “old” Road & Track for decades. I, for one, would have been willing to pay a higher subscription fee to have kept this magazine afloat. It will be very much missed.
If Sports & Exotics Car, with its circulation number and with the reported highest median income of all of the Hemmings titles has ceased publication, then what is the health of the remaining Hemmings titles?
I started getting this a couple of years ago for free somehow, I think they just started sending it without me requestion it. It was decent (pretty good, actually) but I didn’t want to pay to continue it so it stopped after many requests and offers to subscribe. Why not? I’ve become addicted to the extra information available in the commentary sections of online outlets such as CC, it’s often as good as the original post itself. Also, I like the constant stream of content instead of just once a month. I don’t subscribe to anything printed anymore. Kind of sad considering I actually hold a degree in Graphic Communication from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, which in plain speak is Printing and its industry. Currently I still receive Automobile, but again it was free due to attending the Denver Auto Show last year (which itself was free since they gave me a press pass…) I used to eagerly anticipate receiving several monthlies every month and devoured them, now I glance at Automobile, read maybe one or two items that are new to me, then pitch it. I think we will see at least one of the “majors” fold in the next couple of years, probably Automobile.
I’m a little surprised both Car and Driver and Road & Track still exist as separate print titles since they’ve been under the same ownership for around 20 years now.
I saw a “two for one” package of both C/D and R/T* at bookstore this week.
“How long?” is right.
*I don’t know the official abbreviations.
I expected C/D and R&T to merge when they moved R&T to Ann Arbor four or five years ago…but Larry Webster did a tremendous job revitalizing the magazine and making a case for its survival. Larry moved on a few months back…I expect to see an announcement of the two becoming one magazine soon.
Maybe I’m wrong but doesn’t (didn’t) Hemming’s have 2 or 3 magazines for collectors? I say that because often when I visited the local Barnes and Noble it seemed like there were a few similar, yet different magazines with the same title and general look to the front covers.
Having said that, it’s a shame when just about any magazine stops printing on paper. I’ve tried to stick with as many print magazines as I can, I’ve even stuck with buying them at the newstand. Yet I’ve been told a few times that subscribers “count” and newstand purchasers less so.
I do have between 6 and 12 issues of Sports and Exotic in my magazine collection, and am sorry to see them go, but will look anxiously for the new/replacement magazine.
Hemming’s also publishes Muscle Machines and Classic Cars, both monthlies. They may well have other titles as well but those are the two that I’m familiar with as I subscribe to both. Actually I still subscribe to 6 or 7 automotive monthlies because I like the “feel” of picking up and reading a magazine. Reading online is okay and I certainly enjoy CC (and some other websites as well), but for me it will never replace the printed word.
For the same reason I still consume my two or three books weekly in the printed format; that just feels better to me than using an e-reader. I was encouraged to read as a young child and have probably read two or three books a week since I was 10 years old (I’m 65 now). Obviously 50+ plus years ago there were no e-books or electronic anything and the printed page just works better for me.
I am sad to see another print publication bite the dust.
Having said that, and from reading the above letter, it says to me that Hemmings Classic Car is going strong. As someone who has bought copies of THAT magazine almost since its inception, it’s a good thing.
I wonder if editorial plans include incorporating sports and exotic cars into HCC to a limited extent?
I hold a degree too; but just like a restraining order it is nothing but a piece of paper, in a frame. Print media is done, stick a fork in it….I expect no less than the internet overloading my memory banks.
I also used to buy any sports-car magazine I could lay hand to, back when they were all somewhere close to 25¢ per copy … and to be brutally honest, if R&T and Car and Driver were still written for their 1950s and ’60s readers I’d still be one, though there are good reasons why they won’t do that. The only subscription I have now is Classic and Sports Car, because I care most about the cars they write about and enjoy good writing besides.
Which is why I have boxes of R&T, C&D and its predecessor Sports Cars Illustrated, as well as a few Motor Trends and short-lived others from the late Fifties to the early Seventies. I get more of a kick reading Henry Manney, Brock Yates, Phil Hill, John R. Bond and all their crew than most of the guys now writing about and driving cars that normal human beings can’t even work on. Yes, they wrote about those back then as well, and accompanied the articles with chassis and engine cutaways and much intelligent technical discussion, but then they had tuning tips and technical Q&As about making your Sprite or VW a bit livelier as well.
A shame, but not surprising.
I bought Collectible Automobile and every issue of it for their first 20 years. Every issue of Hemmings Classic Car and probably a charter subscriber since it’s inception
They both cover cars I have interests in. Never been the sports or exotic car type and always felt those had mass coverage in the first place over the years. Not to offend, but that’s just my take on it.
Finding coverage on mainstream oldies like here on CC, rather than muscle cars and 55-57 Chevrolets, rods and customs etc has been limited until the internet. Those all have their following.
It seemed to me that S&E was targeting an oversaturated market, one that always got the attention of the “enthusiasts” and their magazine editors across all sorts of mainstream publications : R/T, C/D, MT etc.
@ Will Owen: My favorites in the past have been Lamm and Yates and currently Lenitello, Lang and Neidermeyer. Also: Geeber, JPCavanaugh and many others on CC.
And I think the vast wealth of skilled observers and contributors on sites like CC have helped elevate the level of information available.
As for the print media and the decades of magazines I have boxed up ? They’re like old record albums. I dread going through them and giving up the “collection”. And no one wants them.
S&E was a casualty of just such as this.
The Hemmings foreign car magazine had extensive coverage of esoterica and inexpensive oddballs. It was a lot like Curbside Classic.
Didn’t know that, Hubba. Thanks. My bad for just dismissing it. I love Hemmings Classic Cars and their main publication.
I used to buy the UK “Practical Classics” and “Classic Car” to get that sort of coverage. I didn’t expect it from S&E. Never occurred to me.
It’s a little silly to separate the way Hemmings does “Sports & Exotics” from say American personal luxury as there is so much crossover appeal in the hobby car world. I agree the titles of classic car monthlies all sound the same to the point of nothing really breaking through. Maybe get down to two or three major ones and build up the content a little.
Sports Car Market was sure good when I had the subscription but honestly would have been even better online. No else does a summary of auction results the way they do and it’s great because they cover all types of cars.
Like Jim I also miss the comment sections in printed magazines. Hemmings Blog disabled them awhile back on their “Find of the Day” features and it hasn’t been the same.
The unique selling point of the vintage monthlies for me, that no one else does online or in print, are the road test articles of old cars. I like reading the old R&T tests here mainly to hear again what the car was like to drive and their impressions of it.
That could be an interesting niche to fill for someone like CC, where you also have the comment sections. But where do you get old cars to evaluate. You could borrow them I suppose like Doug Demuro does.
Probably my favorite vintage car thing to read online is a comparison test of two old cars. Very hard to find that. Motor Trend Classic does it once in a while.
Special Interest Autos used to do those sort of tests, Calibrick. Before they became Hemmings Classic Car.
And I love the old road tests featured here on CC as well.
Special Interest Autos articles featured drive reports of the subject cars. The magazine also staged comparison tests of competing models, when it could locate the appropriate cars.
I still read Hemmings Classic Car, but it’s not up to the standards of Special Interest Autos in writing, content or even accuracy.
It’s a shame to see this; I have been looking for this magazine in the racks where I shop and haven’t seen it. I usually buy Classic Car, and truly enjoy it, but that’s the only automotive periodical I buy anymore. There’s so much available on the internet, and I spend a good amount of time just visiting Curbside Classic, but my slight preference is still a printed copy.
I did give up my boxes of MT, CD, RT, etc., about 12 years ago, and don’t really miss them. Probably because this site fills the void.
S&E was one of the two magazines I get. Classic Motorsport is the other which I get because British Car went out of business.
Wow, this is really sad! I get Classic Car, Muscle Machines, AND Sports and Exotic, and Sports and Exotic is my favorite of the three (even though I don’t own any of the cars they cover).
Sometimes the proliferation of the internet doesn’t seem like it’s in my best interest (although in many ways, it’s a boon). Too bad.
Yes, It’s easy to have mixed feelings about these changes. The real problem is that monetizing internet sites is very difficult too (ask me how I know). But the basic overhead is peanuts, so there’s no turning back the clock.
For about 2 years I subscribed to Hemmings Classic Car magazine. It restricts itself to American makes only. It served me very well because I was rather uneducated about this topic. The quality of this magazine is outstanding. It has excellent photography, articles of a wide variety, etc. I still have every copy. Two years though seemed enough.
However, once I found Curbside Classics on the interwebs I realized that my interests have somewhat shifted into a different direction. The blog allows me to contribute in form of posts and comments in a way that letters tot he editor never could. There I said it: Curbside Classics is part of the problem for the printed magazines.
I know Craig Fitzgerald and David Traver Adolphus and heard about this several weeks ago. I made mention of it in my 1973 Volvo post. A shame. Fortunately I have most of the issues in my home library. http://jackbaruth.com/?p=6116
From your article: “A really stupid decision.”
You expect them to keep losing money with it? That’s hardly a smart business decision. They did what they had to do, given their prospects in a rapidly-changing market. Hemmings didn’t get to be the highly-profitable business they are by making stupid decisions.
Another example of the extreme pressure on the publishing industry. Sorry to see this one go. Another casualty so far this year is Bimmer, where I got a notice along with my last issue on that one as well–I’ve been a subscriber for years…
In addition to separate Road & Track and Car and Driver, I’m not sure how AutoWeek stays in business. It’s no longer a weekly, and is basically useless in terms of articles and interesting content. Since I have such a vast collection of old car magazines (probably worthless, but I enjoy it), I keep getting the print editions just to have every issue.
AutoWeek is essentially a home delivery system for ads and sponsored content, not unlike those shopper papers they throw weekly on my front yard. As long as there’s enough revenue from those sources to keep printing the wrapper and shipping it, they will.
GN: Gave up on Autoweek years ago because it seemed their interest in reporting was always testing the latest Mustang mod and relentless ads.
They used to do owner reports like Popular Mechanics did and I liked that, but that was in the 90s. I haven’t read one since I gave up my subscription.
I did respect them for blowing the whistle on Motor Trend and it’s pay for play COTY award.
I got tired of R&T and switched to Autoweek, mostly for the folksy road tests and racing coverage. They went glossy and became more like R&T and with the internet coming on they lost the race report action. Times change and we change with them. That’s my thought for the day.
I used to subscribe to Special Interest Autos. Hemming dropped that title to publish Hemmings Classic Car. I still think that SIA was the better magazine. The subject matter varied widely and I was exposed to a lot of cars that I wasn’t overly interested in, but did gain an appreciation for after reading about them. My subscription to SIA was transfered to HCC and I subscribed for a few more years but it just wasn’t the same. Curbside Classic is better than any printed magazine that I know of.
Many of the writers who wrote for Special-Interest Autos back in the day are either retired (Michael Lamm, among others) or dead (Arch Brown, and his pseudonym ‘Josiah Work’).
SIA had to die, because its later focus on “1920-1980 Collector Cars” alienated different segments of the hobby. Many of the folks who collect pre-war cars don’t want to read about Japanese cars at all. Muscle car fans aren’t interested that much in pre-war cars, and there are other folks who believe that the LAST car worth collecting, was built in 1965…try to create and maintain a magazine that all of those groups will want to read!
I should add that this website was why I started buying a magazine printed by the same folks who produce that excellent British magazine: CAR. About a year ago I noticed a new title at Barnes and Noble that seemed to be aimed at the kind of “car nut” who enjoys Curbside Classic. The magazine is called Modern Classics and it covers European (though mostly British) cars of the late 60s to the late 90s. A lot of the stories are background on a particular model, but they do also drive some of the cars. The 1st issue I bought had a “cover” story about the Ford Sierra (Merkur XR4ti) and it’s different variants, including an AWD 4 door sedan. Another story in the same issue pitted an Australian Ford Falcon against a Vauxhall (Holden) Manaro (AKA the Pontiac GTO). While a 3rd story was about Rover 75 V8 Tourer, which was a Rover station wagon engineered to be powered by a Ford Mustang’s V8.
So a very eclectic mix of “foreign” cars with a heavy dose of high performance….or at least quite sporty, cars.
As other’s have mentioned, print magazines do seem to becoming the thing of the past. While I do really enjoy the internet, with the vast quantity of information just clicks away, a still prefer print media overall. I spend much of my work day in front of a computer, or on my phone, and quite frankly it’s nice to sit down and read a real magazine or book. Reading from a screen just isn’t the same, even with an e-reader. When we cottage in the summer, we have no technology or internet, and I thoroughly enjoy getting to read books and magazines sitting by the lake. As it stands, I subscribed to a few magazines and have years of them saved away. I still have a fresh stack on my nightstand and will likely for a long time.
Sites like CC are great but not the norm, with well researched articles and generally decent comments from knowledgeable people. I really enjoy reading the articles and comments when I have the time. CC Internet forums are also excellent resources in the car world, and are probably the most useful tool for any classic car owner. That said, my biggest beef with the internet is that you often have to waste a ton to time filtering through the 90% garbage, incorrect, and other poor sources out there to find some decent reliable information. At least when print media was king, most of the information there was decently researched and fairly reliable.
It’s a shame that Hemming’s is ending this publication. I think they’d be wise to open Hemming’s Classic car to include Foreign and American makes. Collectible Automobile has followed that format for years and it’s always been a great read. I actually think an older demographic is probably what keeps some of the other magazines alive.
Another great one bites the dust. I too subscribed to SIA so long ago, I will not be re upping to Hemming’s Classic. Another one I really miss is Invention & Technology
I had at least 12 subscriptions to car magazines up until the Great Regression of 2008. I really missed two of them S&E and Sportscar & Classic. S&E was very good at what they did and I enjoyed reading it. What does not make sense to me is why R&T, C&D, MT, and Automobile are still around. They are crap pure and simple! Sportscar & Classic offers a digital subscription for a fraction of the printed magazine. Could this be the future of magazine publishing?
BTW I don’t know how Hemmings Motor News can possibly survive when Craig’s List and eBay killed the newspaper classifieds business.
Certainly the internet has spoiled us all, with nearly endless information and rabbit holes to fill our knowledge void. My dad gave me my first Car and Driver subscription for my 10th birthday, and I’d swear over the next 35 years I could feel when the new issue was due in the mailbox. Then I would devour it from cover to cover. I subsequently added Motor Trend, Automobile and Autoweek to my mailbox.
Starting about 15 years ago decent in-depth websites cropped up – Autoextremist, TTAC, CC, AUWM, Hemmings…there are a plethora of good sites….some have soared, some are mere shadows of themselves. Meanwhile many of my old favorites worked hard at catering to a different, perhaps younger demographic, but I felt they were no longer talking to me. My several-times-a-day sites remain TTAC and CC, not only for the articles but the articulate manner of the commentary (most times). Our ‘little’ community remains my greatest teacher and the article contributors I remain forever indebted.
Paul and I aren’t BFFLs by any means, but I know he does have a donation button to support the high-quality efforts here at CC….just saying. This site remains a labor of love for him and others and certainly deserves support from the community. That or click your ass off on the ads….
I liked it,as well as other Hemmings mags,but distribution was crap hard to find unless you subscribed.Used to subcribe to one of Hemmings mags but the editor would’nt
stop talking about his Camaro that he dragged across country twice and did nothing to it except talk.
that is very sad to hear but I am probably one of the reasons this happens. for many years, I subscribed (and collected) many different magazines. I had motor trend from 1949 right thru to the mid 2000’s, c&d for about 25 years, road and track, road test and several of the hemmings publications.
as I got older I found my tastes were narrowing and I was skipping a lot of articles to “cherry pick” what I wanted to read. I made the decision a few years ago to let all my subscriptions lapse and just pick what magazines I was interested in at the local bookstore. hemmings s&e was one but I went from a monthly to buying maybe 3 or 4 in a year. multiply this by (at one point 10 ) subscriptions and that was a lot of coin these books lost. and I am sure I am not the only one that has changed that way. so I will miss it but it will not be the end of the world as I might once have been.
It’s unfortunate we lost Bimmer and now Sports and Exotic Cars. Both publications I enjoyed from time to time. As much as I like various automotive sites on the Internet, there’s still something about holding a well laid out magazine with sharp pictures and good writing.
How do you end up not being able to make a business case for a magazine if you have upwards of 50,000 subscribers? Comic books are generally considered viable, though not necessarily scintillatingly profitable, at half that figure, and those involve substantial production and marketing costs.
I’m a reader, always have been.
Car magazines started with Rod & Custom and branched out from there. There have been many subscriptions over the years to magazines and newspapers covering many topics – R&T, Flying, Forbes, WSJ, etc. and the monthly quota at home was about eight or ten.
But now there are just three publications arriving at our home and all are done under the auspices of a large club or organization – EAA, MBCA and NRA. That’s it, no more commercial subscriptions and there haven’t been for years.
I like a magazine or three in the car on long driving trips. Otherwise the net is fine.
As a kid, I used to get MT. At college, R&T was found in most dorm rooms (next to the latest issue of Playboy). During my career, my interest was more Forbes and Fortune magazine. Since I have retired, I have tried AutoWeek, but agree with the above observations and have let it lapse. I have also tried Collectible Automobile, but only six issues a year is too little coverage.
I currently get HCC, but I have one major complaint. Not sure who controls the definition of “Classic”, but coverage appears limited to anything prior to disc brakes. Since I am a member of the back half of the baby boomers, my generation grew up on Beetles, Mercury Capri and Mustang II. I would like HCC to move the coverage a decade or two forward as well as to include foreign coverage. I wrote a letter to the editors to this effect, but got no response. If no shift in the next year or so, I will let this subscription lapse and concentrate my focus on the web via my IPAD instead of magazines.
I used to get HCC as well. I recall that they use an age of 25 years or more as the criterion for coverage. And it has to be American iron. If you are patient enough the model years you are interested in will be included.
Hemmings Motor News covers the whole realm of classic cars. I am glad our library has it on the shelf.
Classic Car is already slowly beginning to cover cars from the 1970’s and 1980’s. The old guard (longtime subscribers) have yelled and screamed, but to someone like me in my mid-40’s, I like seeing cars from my childhood.
The tri-Fives and 1960’s muscle cars are nice. But a couple decades of reading about them has waned my interest. Hence, why I like Curbside Classic.
Excellent points Steve. There are many noteworthy cars from the seventies and eighties.
The shame was this last issue of S&E was probably their best yet. I had just subscribed this year, so it looks like I can look forward to an additional year of Classic Car.
This was unforeseen on my end too, especially since my Integra GS-R was the feature car in the Buyer’s Guide of this last issue. But I’m glad I got my short time in the spotlight before the end of the road. And I’m glad the other Hemmings titles will continue in publication.
It’s their own fault. The publication was excellent, their iPad application is junk. I still subscribe to all of their publications, but their clunky web presence is very frustrating and there’s no online interaction.
Someone (or several people) at Hemmings needs to retire before they kill everything off.
I sort of wonder if some of the problem might have been distribution. While “Hemmings Classic Car” can be found in most supermarkets and drug stores, the only place I ever found “Hemmings Sport & Exotic Car” was in bookstores and newsstands, and where I live, those have all closed. (Well, unless I drive for 120 miles or so).
Interesting but not surprising. When I was in the States I picked up a copy of MT Classic at an airport, and I gather that has gone out of print.
What is surprising is that there are still people who start print magazines!
I have the original copy of Special Interest Auto that I got free at the Hershey car show, how many years ago?? I am sorry to see the magazine go. My grandson, whose picture was in the magazine about 4 years ago eats the information up. He learned his alphabet using the car names, A is Alfa Romeo – Z is Zagato. I have an idea for the Classic Car Magazine, how about a section for the Sports and Exotic Car folks, or a split Magazine with 2 Covers. Open either side you like given how you feel on a certain day. Sorry to see this
happen to a great idea and group of writers.
What a shame. I wish they would have at least tried to up the subscription price to a level that was profitable for them, just to see if the circulation remained. I, for one, considered the subscription a bargain — great value. This was my favorite magazine and it will be missed.
Sorry to see it go, I fear a bit of mismanagement up the chain somewhere- 55K “enthusiastic” subscribers and a growing demographic and they chose to kill it?
For the record, I subscribed to the hemmings magazines when I would get a 12 dollar a year offer, and rejected the 15 dollar a year offers. Even at 15 dollars a year, they weren’t making a lot of money on subscribers.