icsmike

...errr I know I already have them.

Joe '87 S4

It was a really high quality "product". How many issues were there total? I have 4.
Spring 2002, Volume 1, Issue 1
Summer 2002 V1, I2
Fall 2002, V1, I3
Summer 2003, V1, I4

Jim bailey - 928 International

It was all I could do NOT to post that there were 5 issues just to make all the collectors go crazy The missing 5 th issue ! Feature articles on the 6 speed trans , $2,500 supercharger Kits ....

atb

Joe, you're missing Vol II Issue 1 featuring Mark A's newly rebuilt race car.
Should have gone out to you since you were a prior subscriber, any chance you moved after summer of '03?

JB wrote:

And that was before you took into account the 50% off coupons in the back!

Joe '87 S4

I just found the 5th Issue so I do have the complete set.

Jim bailey - 928 International

Now about that 6 th issue.....with the all aluminum light weight body

Joe '87 S4

Damn, I'll check under the bed...

6mil928

I would also be interested in them. I just love the idea of a mag dedicated to the 928. Maybe the time for the mag was wrong seems like the 928 is alive and well here on Rennlist.

andy-gts

Maybe Adam , Bill and others would consider resurrecting the magazine as a 2 time a year venture....there certainly is more info available from many sources and the talented people are still here ...and those of us with no talent(myself) can supply some much needed CASH and it could come together. really nice cause we KNOW there is a market . We could start it on line first and see how it goes again...
Maybe I am just dreaming
Andy

atb

Hi Andy,

The major challenges in putting something like this together are:
1) A proficient layout editor. Someone who can take all the text and pictures and format them into a cohesive and readable package. If you can find someone who can do this, that is truly about 90% of the battle. 928 Forum worked because everyone was working for free. 928 Forum failed because everyone was working for free. If anyone were to take on a publication project like this, lesson one: Hire a professional, paid, layout editor. If there is one person involved that you want to be motivated, it is this person.

2) Content. You can usually get about half the articles contributed by volunteers, but this is usually the D.I.Y. stuff or more focused subject matter. The cover stories the magazine has to go after on its own, and typically have to be written by an inhouse writer to make sure they cover all of the major points. Most of the cover articles for 928 Forum were written by Tom Middleton. He was excellent in his thorough and techinical review of the cars that were covered. You're not going to get that from someone writing about their own car, they just don't have the perspective. You are also competing with the national / multi-national mags as well. If someone finishes their big time project and they can get in a 928 Forum type mag, or instead take a chance and get featured in Excellence, your enthusiast mag just is not going to stand a chance. (Can't blame them can you?) It may mean paying to get a good story.

3) Travel Expense. To really get these good articles, you need to go to where the cars are, there is just no substitute. For example, there is no way that the Mark Anderson article could have gotten written without Tom being right there in Anaheim looking at the car. We managed that one because I spend every spring break in Palm Desert with the in-laws, so I was already there. I paid out of pocket for Tom's ticket to fly down so we could get the story. I picked him up in Ontario in the AM, we drove to Anaheim and got the story, and he flew back that evening. The other cover cars / stories were local to us, so it was just gas money. There are lots of stories I can think of that I'd like to see in print, but that would mean flying all across the country. Not cheap. I don't think you'll find to many editors willing to foot the bill.


4) As far as there being a market, I disagree with you. I don't think it is there. At least not for what 928 Forum was attempting to achieve. It would be interesting to see what the production costs would be these days, I wonder if it has gone up or down per unit. All the same, in order for it to be a true success, you would need some serious capital. Enough to cover the unit costs, layout, travel expenses, etc. This is still assuming that no one on the staff is getting paid. For a dedicated 928 magazine, I'd be pleasantly suprised if you could get 500 paid subscriptions. Then again, that would be part of marketing, something that 928Forum did not have other then Rennlist and some other 928 related listserves.

928 Forum started at the same time that "9" magazine did, and the editor and I had a nice exchanged and wished each other luck. My faded memory would swear he said at the time that "9"'s premiere issue was being printed at the rate of 40K units, and that they would probably end up wasting 10K of them. Those may not have been the exact numbers that he used, but they were on that scale. When I went to my local Barnes and Noble after that conversation, sure enough his magazine was on the racks in plentiful supply. I was definitely impressed and intimidated by the scale that they were shooting for. But throughout the years I know 9 had to change its format. It went from being a gloss magazine like 928 Forum to a paper mag using newsprint style paper, and then eventually went to a pure E-zine. Not saying that its good or bad, but it does show that they had to adapt to their market. A successful gloss mag is a tall order is the only point I'm trying to make, not making any judgments about 9. Bottom line, they are still out there (I believe, I'm not a subscriber) and 928 Forum has been long gone.

Anyway you look at it, it's definitely a labor of love given the market segment you're shooting for.

RSKY BIZ

Adam,
I too, am interested in a set of whatever issues remain.
Please advise of the cost, after your 'trip down memory lane!'

I believe I heard about this publication over a year ago, but was unable to find it on news stands...
Now I have some insight as to why!
Kudos to the PNW gang et al, for having taken this project on.

soupcan928, AKA Brian -- thanks for going through the info from your PO!

As an aside, a story line I became intrigued by @ SITM in '07 were the personal acquisition stories,
the 'how I found / came upon my shark' stories, the 'quests for previous PO's' info --
the stories are varied and entertaining.
But I agree Adam, it is a limited market to deal with, in the greater scheme of things.
Do you have any recollection of the subscription volume you were dealing with at the time?
Just curious...

Us shark-o-philes definitely have stories to share!
I can only imagine 'what if' the sharks could tell us THEIR stories...

Best,
Kim

6mil928

Yes "9" is still out there.
http://www.9magazine.com/index.html

Shane D

I have built a pretty good Porsche library in the last 12 months. I must admit that what what brought me into this forum was 928's. However, after reading this forum since last February I have gotten the feeling that 928's are not real reliable (they are going on 20 years old), and you may have a hard time getting some parts. While my focus may be changing I would be more than willing to pay some money for old issues of any 928 magazines.
The catalogue is 19 books and counting. Some magazines would be good (to go with my Excellence).

Chuck Schreiber

Adam,

I have to hand it to y'all, the mag was awesome!!! I remember waiting to get my copies when they first came out and people would post here on rennlist as they got their copies and you could see it like a wave moving across the country. Sitting here looking at all 5 of my Forums right now.
Remember the Op-Art opinion column? Do it yourself 928 alignment, Euro 928 gathering 2002, or the bogus Phil Threshy carbon fiber intake??

Good stuff man, good stuff!!!

Tom. M

dont' forget to give props to John Casebere....he was part of the team too..

Later,
Tom
89GT
82 Track Car