New Square Car for Women

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
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Mon 21 Aug 2006 13:16
New Square Car for Women - Big Bad Dave
I'm just curious from a design point of view what backroomers think of the new square format Car magazine. Somebody just pushed an issue under my nose and asked me what I thought and what the UK market would make of it.

Firstly, I'd love to know the rational for the shortened, square format. Great way to lose your mast-head behind all the other mags on the shelf.

It's nice to see they've cleaned up the Bulletin pages and got rid of the uneccessary design flourishes but when I got to the first feature i.e. the Veyron... well I'm shocked quite frankly. I'm staring at huge golden, elegant serif drop caps that seem to have been lifted straight from Vogue or Elle. By the time you get to the American muscle car feature, they've grown to about 10 cm tall. The Renault article and Bentley article have superfluous drop caps i.e. a large cap plus the first word in full - Nnever Sseen that before.

Excessive use of gold, lots of white space and women's typography. It's just too pretty and effeminate. Perhaps I'm too set in my ways in believing car mags should look a bit butch, but I'm looking at the cover with it's white border and artsy photography and it's just screaming "interior design/photography magazine" at me.

Barlow makes a comment at the bottom of his intro "You will not be able to confuse CAR magazine for any other title out there" Damned right, boyfriend.
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Mon 21 Aug 2006 13:25
New Square Car for Women - Altea Ego
dave

I shall toddle out and buy one now. We can discuss it in bed later.
------------------------------
TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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Mon 21 Aug 2006 13:27
New Square Car for Women - Adam {P}
I could be here for another ten years and I still think that is the strangest post you will ever make.
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Mon 21 Aug 2006 13:31
New Square Car for Women - Big Bad Dave
I am soooo on my way over there
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Mon 21 Aug 2006 13:37
New Square Car for Women - Adam {P}
Oh come on - pie with me or......something strange with RF?

I can't believe you're even thinking about it.
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Mon 21 Aug 2006 14:11
New Square Car for Women - mss1tw
I thought you meant the WagonR
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Mon 21 Aug 2006 14:18
New Square Car for Women - Red Baron
Perhaps the format will look better and more appealing lying on the coffee table at a dealership with all of its square-cut brochures.
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Mon 21 Aug 2006 14:15
New Square Car for Women - s61sw
BBD

I do and don't get the jist of your post, but I'll give my response to the first sentence. I think the new format is O.K. - nothing more and nothing less, but I think the content has changed for the better (see my post in the thread about LJK Setright). There seemed to be plenty more to keep me interested than in recent months (and years). The much vaunted new website doesn't float my boat though.

S6 1SW
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