Automobile Quarterly

[21raceabout]

Anybody know what is going on with Automobile Quarterly? I know publisher passed away a while back but there were 3 issues published after that. The "current" issue is 52-1, 1st quarter of 2012, and now here we are in the 4th quarter of 2013. Website looks like they are still ready to take your money but they don't answer email.

[john2dameron]

In regard to the inquiry about Automobile Quarterly, here is a link with the sad story of how they defrauded subscribers after they ceased publishing. I think I am out of the cost of five issues. I don't understand how they could continue to solicit subscriptions after they ceased publishing. To me it is outright fraud.

http://carpubinsider.com/2012/07/26/automobile-quarterly-to-cease-publication/

Edited October 18, 2013 by john2dameron
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[21raceabout]

Thanks for the info John. It was just as I feared, some of the articles in those final issues were really awful. I am in the same boat as you, out the cost of five issues. And I agree,continuing to solicit people for money is indeed outright fraud. My father's old friend Scott Bailey must be rolling in his grave.

[Guest Nancy DeWitt]

This explains a lot. We subscribed last fall, got sent a few old issues and that was it.

[MochetVelo]

I, too, am a subscriber. I thought the "last" issue was OK, and nicely presented as usual. They're about five issues behind now and, like Raceabout says, they're still soliciting money on their web page. The least they could do would be to post an apology, unless it has changed from a magazine to another internet scam.

Phil

[Guest JasonG]

If you paid with a credit card, contact the card issuer. I used Amex for my subscription, filed a dispute and got a full refund in August. Amex refunded the charge because AQ wouldn't respond to them either.

Jason

[Guest Magoo]

Even with the best of intentions, with only 5500 subscribers it's not a sustainable business. I don't see how it can deliver on its promises.

[trimacar]

What a shame, to lose a quality hardback publication..... With all the soft cover monthly rags about old cars, the one that you'd keep on the shelf proudly was (and is) Automobile Quarterly. Expensive but worth it, beautiful photography and reasonably accurate histories of fine cars.....

I'm glad I have a complete set for my library, sad to see it go.

My advice to anyone in the hobby is to acquire a set and keep it, in the shadowed evenings of our age, one can flip any issue off the shelf and be superbly entertained for a while....

[Friartuck]

Does anyone want to offer an opinion on the copyright permissions of a publisher that's no longer in business??

[CarNucopia]

I would guess that someone would have a claim on them. If AQ were to go out of business completely and still have unsettled obligations, the copyrights are an asset that lenders and others could go after.

Does anyone want to offer an opinion on the copyright permissions of a publisher that's no longer in business??

[Steve Moskowitz]

Copyrights are still owned by AQ. I do not have a lot to add to this conversation other than to say that the death of Gerry Durnell has caused insurmountable problems for AQ. There are suitors trying to find a business case to bring AQ back to life.

[Dave Henderson]

Well, maybe back issues will be snatched up now, since AQ is printing no more, but even that may be in doubt. The low circulation was certainly a factor of the economy and the AQ cost, but in my opinion something more was lost over time. Perhaps it was that so many of the great classics and racing subjects of historical interest had been already covered that the appeal to earlier subscribers waned.

A large literature vendor across the isle from my Hershey space in 2012 had boxes of random issues , some still unwrapped, and sales of them for only 5 bucks were almost nil. A while back I advertised on the buy-sell here a continuous run from Vol 11-1 through 22-4 plus 4 index issues for, I beieve, $250, and got not one response. That's 52 books in a run for less than $5 apiece! Yup, they are still available if there are any takers.

[Restorer32]

Is my memory faulty or did AQ in fact begin life in the Reading, PA area? Trying to clear out my memory banks a bit and this possibly erroneous "recollection" keeps popping up every time I travel north toward Reading.

[Dave Henderson]

Vool 1 -1 shows the Office of Publication address to be Kutztown, Pa. while the Editorial Office was in N. Y. City.

[Peter J.Heizmann]

Is my memory faulty or did AQ in fact begin life in the Reading, PA area? Trying to clear out my memory banks a bit and this possibly erroneous "recollection" keeps popping up every time I travel north toward Reading.

Jeff,

Close guess, Jeff. My memory from the 1960's is Kutztown, PA. Reason being I inherited 2 or 3 copies many years ago and at the time not really into preserving old vehicles. Gave them away a long time ago.

Regards,

Peter J.

[Restorer32]

Kutztown is where I remember, even remember the building on the "bypass" around Kutztown. Glad to know I haven't gone completely round the bend yet.

[Steve Moskowitz]

I am hesitant to say much more here but to you subscribers. If the books were released with a hard cover, not softbound, but a little lower in quality (hence price to produce) how would you feel. Content would be very similar but there might be a two or three full page ads in each issue. Appreciate your input.

[hursst]

I started having problems with them in 2007. I cancelled my subscription after being a 20-year subscriber. They messed up my subscription and I lost about 4 issues, as they could never seem to complete the simple task of fixing a subscription and sending me the missed issues. This news is no surprise to me.

As for Steve's question above, I have switched all my loyalties to Hemmings publications. I don't think you can fix Automobile Quarterly. It got to be too expensive, they were putting out 5-issues a year instead of 4 (no longer quarterly) and their service and delivery times were horrendous. Best to let this one die off and revisit the old issues. I picked up 2 early issues at Hurricane Hershey 2013 for $5 a piece and that's a huge bargain. Everyone should be buying these old issues. They were masterfully produced books in their era and should be go-to reading for any auto enthusiast.

[trimacar]

Nope, the high quality of both hard cover and content was/is the attraction, and making it "cheaper"... No thanks.

I read and throw away non-club publications, so a similar magazine is of no interest to me.

AQ followed the marketing philosophy of such brands as Bose or Dyson, provide a superior high end product, and a certain number of people will see the value and pay the price.

Changed brand? RIP

[Guest Peter Linsky]

Does anyone know if AQ published an Index for Volumes 41-50? If not, would there be any interest in seeing one produced by someone in the former subscriber base? In case the former publishers took offense at a potential violation of copyright, perhaps it could simply be entitled "Index 41-50" with no mention of AQ. If the former publishers claimed the company was still extant, might that open them to numerous claims of fraud for accepting advance payment and then failing to fulfill the agreement? Any lawyers out there willing to comment?