Anyone Else Hating the New Roundel?

General conversations about BMW E28s and the people who own them.
Dana R
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Anyone Else Hating the New Roundel?

Post by Dana R »

Check in here if you've read the new January Roundel.

No Mike Self, Jenny Morgan, Calabrese, Joe Chamberlain. Bill Howard, Sam Smith. More racing (snooze-it's great to watch, sucks to read) coverage. Maybe I'm too old and too traditional, but I liked the old format. And they kept friggin Jeremy Walton! I don't care what anyone says, Satch Carlson sucks, and he smells bad too.
shwaa
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Post by shwaa »

I want to say Jenny is done ... I remember having a conversation about that recently. I am not positive but I am pretty sure that was the case. I will see if I can dig up more info on it.
mooseheadm5
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Post by mooseheadm5 »

Yup, Jenny is out.
ElGuappo
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Post by ElGuappo »

I gave up on Roundel a while ago.
While its still a fine magazine, it just got so Boring.
m-racer
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Post by m-racer »

Big thread on 2002faq. Worth reading. Jenny Morgan (who has been picked up by Bimmer), Rob Siegel, Mike Self, Phil Marx, and Jackie Jouret (editor, Bimmer) chimed in. The new format rots.
Jeremy
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Post by Jeremy »

m-racer wrote:Big thread on 2002faq. Worth reading. Jenny Morgan (who has been picked up by Bimmer), Rob Siegel, Mike Self, Phil Marx, and Jackie Jouret (editor, Bimmer) chimed in. The new format rots.
Link?
867535i
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Post by 867535i »

I liked the Al Taylor story but that should have been ten more pages with the stuff they were too afraid to publish.
shagrath
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Post by shagrath »

I like the new layout. I find it easier to read.

I haven't been around long enough to know much about the staff that left or what have you. I still enjoy reading the articles. Mike Self had some good stuff, he will be missed.
Adam W in MN
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Post by Adam W in MN »

Jeremy wrote:
m-racer wrote:Big thread on 2002faq. Worth reading. Jenny Morgan (who has been picked up by Bimmer), Rob Siegel, Mike Self, Phil Marx, and Jackie Jouret (editor, Bimmer) chimed in. The new format rots.
Link?
http://www.bmw2002faq.com/component/opt ... /t,380370/

I am reading through ithe message thread now. I still have the new issue at home sitting where I left it when it came, but I did notice immediately that something was very different.
Cactus
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Post by Cactus »

Wait, that was a Roundel? Could have sworn that was the new Audi magazine.
rmiddendorf
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Post by rmiddendorf »

I've decided that magazines are just noise for me. I'm going to continue to keep my CCA membership up to date but I'm trying to simplify my life. I've also taken the same approach with Model Aviation which comes with my AMA membership. If I could opt-out of the printed material I would.
L_N_Love
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Post by L_N_Love »

I tried but don't like it either. Will miss those columnists too.
stuartinmn
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Post by stuartinmn »

I noticed Rob said in his post over there that, "Also in fairness to Satch (can you tell that I try very hard to see all points of view?), the BMW CCA and the Roundel need to mold to the demographics of the club. Satch winces whenever I write multi-part columns on something as specific as retrofitting a/c into a 2002, and reminds me what a tiny slice of the club is actually interested in this sort of thing." I wonder if us old car / gearhead people really are that small a percentage of the membership.

Personally, I have little interest in the new car comparisons and the travelogue stories that seem to take up most of the magazine. The racing stuff is a little more interesting but it seems to be mainly a way for people to get their name in a magazine after they place in a Club Racing event somewhere.

I'm also a member of the Pontiac club since I own an old Bonneville; of course since Pontiac is defunct, by design they cater to older cars, but the monthly magazine has a lot of technical information on repairs and engine building, as well as restoration stuff, so it's much more interesting from a gearhead point of view.

edit: After going through the thread on the other page I noticed Paul Wegweiser was in on the discussion. He used to work at Maximillian many moons ago, I met him there when they hosted the M535i fest way back in 2000. He's a great guy; he posted a link to his blog which looks like it has some good stuff in it, I'd recommend checking it out.
m-racer
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Post by m-racer »

stuartinmn wrote:I noticed Rob said in his post over there that, "Also in fairness to Satch (can you tell that I try very hard to see all points of view?), the BMW CCA and the Roundel need to mold to the demographics of the club. Satch winces whenever I write multi-part columns on something as specific as retrofitting a/c into a 2002, and reminds me what a tiny slice of the club is actually interested in this sort of thing." I wonder if us old car / gearhead people really are that small a percentage of the membership.

Personally, I have little interest in the new car comparisons and the travelogue stories that seem to take up most of the magazine. The racing stuff is a little more interesting but it seems to be mainly a way for people to get their name in a magazine after they place in a Club Racing event somewhere.

I'm also a member of the Pontiac club since I own an old Bonneville; of course since Pontiac is defunct, by design they cater to older cars, but the monthly magazine has a lot of technical information on repairs and engine building, as well as restoration stuff, so it's much more interesting from a gearhead point of view.

edit: After going through the thread on the other page I noticed Paul Wegweiser was in on the discussion. He used to work at Maximillian many moons ago, I met him there when they hosted the M535i fest way back in 2000. He's a great guy; he posted a link to his blog which looks like it has some good stuff in it, I'd recommend checking it out.
The average age of a BMWCCA member is 50something and interest is falling. New BMW buyers do not necessarily represent enthusiasts. The social networks and specialty sites are much more popular with enthusiasts than the club itself. Lots of younger enthusiasts who don't belong and don't think the CCA wants them. CFBMW.org (in Orlando), for example is more active than the CCA local chapters and most of the people are younger and don't belong to BMWCCA. I think the BMWCCA is a shrinking organization. Paul is a very good guy and an 02 resource to the core.
Nanajoth
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Post by Nanajoth »

I'm 22 and I think Roundel is a boring magazine, not much of it interests me and I don't want to see a bunch of BavAuto ads.
oldskool
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Post by oldskool »

I'm shocked as well. They blew it.
Got to meet Rob Siegel at Vintage this past year. He was so animated and happy to talk for a while. I mentioned various articles he had written over the years and he picked right up on them. Great guy.
Cactus
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Post by Cactus »

I was 22 once. I think it's an alright rag. Was, anyway. Mike Self lives by me, I see him at some of the local shindigs. Cool guy. Met Rob at the V last year, he's pretty alright too.
Greg E34
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Post by Greg E34 »

I was very disappointed with the Jan issue. Saw that Mark Calabrese and Rob Siegel will be alternating issues. That sucks. Two of my favorites and I've met both of these guys. Mark is a friend and I met Rob last year at Vintage. Roundel is really falling out of favor with me.
BMWCCA2
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Post by BMWCCA2 »

Greg E34 wrote:I was very disappointed with the Jan issue. Saw that Mark Calabrese and Rob Siegel will be alternating issues. That sucks. Two of my favorites and I've met both of these guys. Mark is a friend and I met Rob last year at Vintage. Roundel is really falling out of favor with me.
Calabrese is no longer on the board so he can't protect Satch. Easy decision on Satch's part. He's been wanting to can Bill Howard for years. Now he's got new blood who can worship him and he doesn't have to pay them as much.
Hutch
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Post by Hutch »

I think about all of the other car mags that went through revamps and remember that every time I got that first issue, thought, "oh, this doesn't look all that good, why did they do this?" Then a few issues later, it's all OK.

Now, you want to talk about a revamp that really SUCKS?
The new Delta.com is horrendous. I use it multiple times a week and it never gets better.
Justin_FL
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Post by Justin_FL »

Sad to hear this news about Roundel. Used to be one of my favorite magazines to read. My Dad joined around 1992 and the magazine was a great for an aspiring, young car enthusiast. Then at a garage sale sometime in the later '90s, my Dad picked up a whole bunch of Roundels from the 1980s. Good stuff.

But I let my membership lapse and didn't renew for 2010. Roundel no longer appealed to me and had become a tedious read, except for the columns. The local club chapter was not a factor; most of the people are nice, but it was hard to relate and feel welcome. Those I've met with the "old BMWs" and still work on them are the best. True gear-heads speak the same language and it just seems that group is marginalized, despite that type of passion for the marque being the original foundation for the club.
m-racer
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Post by m-racer »

Hutch wrote:I think about all of the other car mags that went through revamps and remember that every time I got that first issue, thought, "oh, this doesn't look all that good, why did they do this?" Then a few issues later, it's all OK.

Now, you want to talk about a revamp that really SUCKS?
The new Delta.com is horrendous. I use it multiple times a week and it never gets better.
Delta sucks on a whole different level and I have 5 million miles and am permanent platinum. They stilll suck.
johnnye23
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Post by johnnye23 »

I haven't had the time to open it yet . I am now curious as to what I will find .
Greg E34
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Post by Greg E34 »

johnnye23 wrote:I haven't had the time to open it yet . I am now curious as to what I will find .
Shouldn't you be loading the truck?
johnnye23
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Post by johnnye23 »

Greg E34 wrote:
johnnye23 wrote:I haven't had the time to open it yet . I am now curious as to what I will find .
Shouldn't you be loading the truck?
Waiting for manpower to arrive ;)
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