HMN Classic Car Jumps the Shark

[John_S_in_Penna]

Here's a further glimpse into Hemmings' fall:

 

I just tried to phone the editorial offices.

They no longer even publish the phone number

for the editorial offices in the magazine, so from

the impersonal automated system I pushed a button.

 

The lady I got on the phone would not even give out

the number for the editorial offices.  "They don't have

a phone;  they work from e-mail," she answered rather

shortly.  "You mean no one in that office has a 

telephone to communicate?" I replied.  After a few

back and forths, with her not even being polite and

deferential--and my pointing that out to her--she

hung up on me!

 

I MISS THE OLD HEMMINGS.  I really want to see them

excel.  I am kind and usually accommodating, but I say

with regret, let the new attitude fail.

 

 

Edited December 2, 2021 by John_S_in_Penna (see edit history)

[John348]

This last issue of HCC pretty much lost me. Some one should tell them that disc brake conversions and EFI conversions were covered 20 years ago by everyone else

[John_S_in_Penna]

Is Ed Heys still with the Hemmings family of magazines?

I've spoken to him a few times in the past and always

found him helpful and courteous--qualities that don't

seem to be recognized in the current state of affairs.

 

If not, where has he gone?

 

Edited December 1, 2021 by John_S_in_Penna (see edit history)

[8E45E]

1 hour ago, Richard Lentinello said:

The variety in each issue will amaze you. Best of all, it's written by some of the best writers in the business, including former Hemmings editors David LaChance, Walt Gosden, Milton Stern, Jim Richardson, Jim Donnelly and Pat Foster. Crankshaft Issue #3 is scheduled to be published in mid-January 2022; this issue has been delayed due to a paper shortage, and the time-consuming task of relocating our office to Knoxville, Tennessee.

I hope Bob Palma is included in your list of writers.

 

I am looking forward to the issue #3.

 

Craig

[John_Mc]

Sadly, as I see the content slide towards light modifications, or mutilations as I see them, it’s clear to me they have lost their target audience.  Unless I see a radical departure, I’m out.

 

Does it really need to be explained that disc brakes, halogen lights, radial tires, breaker-less ignition and LED’s are superior over the original? 
 

Seeing the painted hideous blue inside rear view mirror on the custom bodied Studebaker on the cover made me sick.  So…….bye-bye

[Matt Harwood]

Print is dead and it knows it. At least you guys are technically proficient enough to be on the internet where the information now lives, unlike a majority of your peers who regard the internet as some scary, technically complex new fad and still insist on using paper and pencil to conduct all their business like they did back in 1968.

[TerryB]

I was 18 in 1970 so reading about post war cars is fine for me as most of my personal experiences was with them.  Real early cars like brass era are fine from a historic perspective for me but I never longed to own any.  I do like mid 1930s and up as some were still in service when I was young.  My first hobby car was a 1937 Dodge pickup.  Today I don’t mind reading about postwar cars but the how to modify them with modern parts is a lot less interesting.  I hope future issues of HCC get more on track with the reader preferences voiced here.

[SC38dls]

Matt, I respectfully disagree. Print isn’t dead but it is dying. In the last 6 months paper cost has gone up 47% if you can even get it, postal cost are set to increase soon for periodical postage. Printing cost has increased 10-23% in the last year. Still the majority of subscribers prefer print. The pubs just can’t increase ad revenue fast enough. Most print ads are sold on a multi copy basis of 6 or 12 issues. So how do they offset a huge unexpected supply increase?  The over 100 pubs I worked with they had an average digital sub base of about 20-23%. These were trade pubs not consumer pubs. The 4 or 5 consumer pubs we processed for had a few points higher but not by much. We did see a correlation in some subs titles like engineers seem to like getting both print and digital copies. Our sub surveys told us this was to get info quickly but still have a print copy for historical purposes. Will print die, I believe it will but not soon unless environmental impact stops the reasonable cost of paper. 
Just based on surveys we did over the last ten years of the digital world. 
dave s 

[GARY F]

I agree with all the above. Another thing that tics me off is every mag has a Mustang on the cover and articles except for marquis specific. why cant they put a 34 Plymouth or 36 Olds.

[Paul Dobbin]

7 hours ago, 60FlatTop said:

I have seen the grocery store parking lot comment on this forum a few times. Those comments take me back to 1959 and 1960 when I first got involved in the hobby. When I read it I think of the rows of Ford Model A's and T's and the sour shriveled up old men standing by them.

 

I came for the cars. And stayed in spite of the people.

   When I remember those shriveled up old men with their Model T's & A's,   I think of how much help their knowledge was when I was restoring my

   31 Model and and my 15 Model T at age 32.   Now 44 years later we're those old guys.   I think it's time for another brass Model T.   

    I came for the cars and stayed for the people.

    

[gwells]

17 hours ago, Richard Lentinello said:

... when I started Hemmings Classic Car magazine in 2004 our goal was to feature a balanced selection of all types of American collector cars. Pre-war cars played a huge role in the success of HCC, which is why I always made it a point to feature a pre-war automobile in every issue. 

That balance was a major concern when the late Don Peterson and I started Car Collector magazine in January of 1978. It's still a concern for us at the Jaguar Journal, where I've been associate editor under Peter Crespin for almost seven years.

 

And if a magazine is on the newsstand, what car appears on the cover is even more important, as it is tightly tied to implulse sales. A pre-war car on the cover always diminished newsstand sales at Car Collector.

 

In case you don't know, newsstand magazine sales are break-even at best; their main purpose is to drive increased subscription levels. And subscriptions are break-even, too; the higher the subscription number, the more the magazine can charge for advertising. That's why you see so many magazines offering super-cheap subs these days, generally below the cost of servicing those subs. Bluntly put, it is the advertising in a magazine that pays the bills.

I fully agree with those who note that print media is taking it on the chin in recent years from three directions: the cost of paper, the cost of postage, and the wholesale stampede of advertisers toward digital media. IMO some print will survive, but not much.

 

As an aside, Richard, wasn't HCC simply a rebranding/revamped version of SIA?

As I think I told you in the past, once you left HCC, the quality of the product was such that I did not renew... and I had been a charter subscriber from issue one.

 

[Walt G]

So what I am reading here is telling me if you want print media to survive then subscribe to a magazine. I just like to sit in a comfortable chair and hold a magazine and turn pages, cup of tea or coffee on the table next to me or perhaps a glass of adult beverage (octane rating optional).

 

If we loose electric power due to the ever-increasing demand, you can still read a periodical by flashlight or candlelight, even moonlight. As I frequently mention I grow weary of looking at a screen.

[Ozstatman]

20 minutes ago, Walt G said:

..........If we loose electric power due to the ever increasing demand you can still read a periodical by flashlight or candle, even moonlight. As I frequently mention I grow weary of looking at a screen.

If we lose power Walt, we won't be able to look at a screen.🤔😉

[8E45E]

5 hours ago, gwells said:

That balance was a major concern when the late Don Peterson and I started Car Collector magazine in January of 1978. It's still a concern for us at the Jaguar Journal, where I've been associate editor under Peter Crespin for almost seven years.

 

And if a magazine is on the newsstand, what car appears on the cover is even more important, as it is tightly tied to implulse sales. A pre-war car on the cover always diminished newsstand sales at Car Collector.

That is one magazine I do miss, and its predecessor, Car Classics. It was the very first vintage car magazine I bought at the newsstand starting in 1973.  Frank Taylor was the Car Classics editor back then.

 

Craig

[1912Staver]

As a Canadian the subscription route becomes very expensive. I know postage is a lot more expensive to Canada so no real solution. But between the lousy exchange and the higher sub, the price any magazine is going to cost a Canadian close to twice as much as a U.S. buyer. And you guys are having a hard time justifying the cost vs. benefit. The only place I buy them anymore is at swap meets for pennies on the dollar.

 

Crankshaft looks great, but my cost would be almost $25 an issue even with a subscription. That's a mighty expensive magazine. I can still remember paying less than a dollar for car magazines at the newsstand.

[Larry Schramm]

10 hours ago, F&J said:

Finally the same thoughts as I was writing mine; There are no stock prewars on my roads, and almost none at any show near here. There is a noticeable increase in me seeing prewar hotrods on my roads.  At my age 70, with limited sunsets left,  I now see no point in myself owning a car that cannot be driven (and fully enjoyed!) at my local road speed requirements, meaning keeping out of modern texting drivers way. It's even stressful with my every day year -ound primary car, a heavily-modified 1932 with its small signal/brake lights as I try to slow enough to get in my driveway on a 55 mph state road.

I am about your age and I drive my brass and nickel vehicles on the road all of the time. 

 

I put almost 1,900 miles on our '13 Buick last summer alone on tours. 

[f.f.jones]

Lud·dite

/ˈlədˌīt/

noun

plural noun: Luddites

 

Over time, the term has come to mean one opposed to industrialization, automation, computerization, or new technologies or changes in general.

 

(The Luddite movement began in England and culminated in a region-wide rebellion that lasted from 1811 to 1816. Mill and factory owners took to shooting protesters and eventually the movement was suppressed with legal and military force.)

 

                                                                  -----------------0--------------

 

I have been accused of being a luddite for a number of reasons. I live in a 110 year old farm house full of antiques (and even a working wood cook stove in the kitchen). I drive a 50 year old pickup truck. I’ve never bought a hoodie or a pair of running shoes. Never much liked to watch TV. No cable, no satellite. I could go on, but you get the point. I also understand that change is not necessarily progress. 

However, if I ran a business in the manner in which I run my personal life, I would have been out of business a long time ago. How many TV and radio repair shops do you see nowadays? Service stations (not gas stations)? Drive-in movie theaters? How many business men in neckties and  fedoras have you seen on the street lately? The list goes on... Buggy whips being a prime example of a product that has passed on through changes in the way we live.

 

I see a correlation between many historical changes we have seen and what the print media is experiencing now: The struggle for market share (readership and advertising dollars); changing demographics; competition from new sources; obsolescence: and to some extent, the environment. Take a few of the time-honored magazines for example: Life, Look, Post (and, yes, even Playboy). Other forms of media have nearly eliminated these titles. Research shows magazine readership has declined 50% over the last 10 years. Life, Look and Post have been gone much longer than that. You surely know how newspapers have fared over the same period.

To survive at all, print media is searching for ways to stay afloat. That means going where their market “experts” say to go. Following the younger crowd, keeping abreast of popular changes, and appealing to the greatest number of people possible.

 

Personally, I don’t like changes to the status quo any more than the majority of ‘mature” (older) adults. Neither did my folks, nor their folks. But I’ve learned to roll with them. I’m not about to have a coronary or get an ulcer trying to hold back the course of time. There are lots of things (modern music, tofu, electric cars, computer games, meatless hamburgers, to name a few) that I don’t appreciate/understand or partake of, but that’s life. Let the others enjoy it. I can always find something else to enjoy, and someone to enjoy it with, if I bother to look for it rather than grousing about what was and will never be again.    AMEN!

Edited December 2, 2021 by f.f.jones (see edit history)

[gwells]

3 hours ago, 8E45E said:

That is one magazine I do miss, and its predecessor, Car Classics.

Craig,

 

Car Collector bought Car Classics in, oh, 1979-80 or so. I was detailed to fly out and collect the Car Classics editorial files and back issues. Won't bore you with stories of my epic cross-country drive in a U-Haul, but John Meyer, a past editor of the HCCA Gazette, might remember rendering me much-needed assistance during that journey. He helped load the truck with the back issues, which were so numerous I couldn't take them all.

[John_S_in_Penna]

3 hours ago, f.f.jones said:

 I have been accused of being a luddite for a number of reasons....

 

Don't sell yourself short, Mr. Jones, or adopt derogatory

 terms for yourself! Some things deserve to be short lived;

 higher qualities should last forever.  That's why some things,

 from Mozart's music to Marmon cars, may be considered classical. 

 

To illustrate:

 

– Considerate, personal service never goes out of style.

 A friendly, knowledgeable employee is better, for example,

 than a recorded voice, and is appreciated far more.

 

– Excellent research and well-written articles should be

tangibly preserved, not merely on electronic media which

is quickly superseded.  

 

Liking a magazine dedicated to one's hobby does not

make anyone old-fashioned. Should an orchestra playing

Beethoven learn acid rock to stay current? Should someone

have painted over the Old Masters 50 years ago because

they were too old?

 

There was no need for Hemmings to adopt modified cars

when they were so good at what they did!

Edited December 2, 2021 by John_S_in_Penna (see edit history)

[f.f.jones]

38 minutes ago, John_S_in_Penna said:

1 hour ago, John_S_in_Penna said:

Liking a magazine dedicated to one's hobby does not make anyone old-fashioned. Should an orchestra playing Beethoven learn acid rock to stay current? Should someone have painted over the Old Masters 50 years ago because they were too old?

 

There was no need for Hemmings to adopt modified cars when they were so good at what they did!

 

No argument here...

But, again, running a successful business (for profit) is not like orchestra music, fine art, rare books, or classic _________ (fill in the blank). Businesses have to be dynamic to survive. 

I venture to guess that the percentage of the population that were literate and educated enough to appreciate what we call "the classics" (not in the automotive sense) when they were "new" was much greater then than the percentage of the current population who now appreciate the same thing. Those classic composers and artists from centuries past, some of whom made a good living from their art, would have a very difficult time today surviving by the same means. Hence Elvis, Andy Warhol, psychedelic musicians and artists and their ilk became rich and famous appealing to to the younger masses, while a dwindling minority grated their collective teeth and maintained their love for the old masters.

The point being, we can appreciate what Hemming's, Beethoven, and Michael Angelo contributed in the past, form groups of like-minded folks, support the preservation of these treasures and, together, hope for their resurgence, but it ain't gonna happen. Great world cultures have disintegrated over the eons: we can appreciate their contributions, but can't resurrect them. 

[8E45E]

11 hours ago, 1912Staver said:

Crankshaft looks great, but my cost would be almost $25 an issue even with a subscription. That's a mighty expensive magazine. I can still remember paying less than a dollar for car magazines at the newsstand.

Crankshaft is quarterly, which amounts to $100 a year.   An average monthly magazine now costs $8.00 plus GST, which adds up to $100.80 if purchased each month, therefore, a year's worth of each costing the same.

 

Craig

[Steve_Mack_CT]

HMN seems to be pivoting to a business model that is online and auction focused like BAT.  The paper infrastructure is already in place or they wouldn't bother with it. 

I never paid a lot of attention to the "magazine" portion of HMN proper, would rather they never bothered and focused on ads and keeping cost down, but I also understand what they were trying to do.  

That said shame to see it go this way.  John S, if you were calling to consign a "hot commodity" you probably would have been treated differently.  After managing contact center type organizations for much of my career I can tell you that the person who hung up on you would be looking for a new job in my organization.  I bet it happens frequently as she fields "old guard" calls weekly.  Heck I am not yet 60 and have over 40 years as an HMN subscriber in.  I imagine many of us here have a lot more...

Agree with Walt, subscriptions are good if the periodical suits you.  HCC is not one of those.  Will likely let HMN drop now after the $20 hook runs out.

Edited December 2, 2021 by Steve_Mack_CT (see edit history)

[TAKerry]

I stopped my subscription to the "big book" that is Hemmings.  They started putting a few articles that were piggy backed in either the classic cars edition or the muscle cars. I simply cannot see/read the for sale ads the print is beyond ridiculously small!

 

As far as the latest issue, I read through it the other night. Honestly I did not find anything that offensive to either myself or the old car hobby. So a guy put an upgraded motor in his car so he can drive it on a regular basis in todays traffic. Someone adds better braking. A period created convertible that filled a want at the time that the big 3 werent doing. OK, so there were no cars prior to 1950, but there were still 'old' cars in there. None of these cars really appeal to me and I doubt I will ever be in the market for one but I did enjoy reading about them. I hear so many times 'the hobby is dying, Take a kid to a car show', then a publication puts in articles that may appeal to someone in that demographic and it gets 'flamed'.

[Steve_Mack_CT]

Kerry not so much flaming as a decision to pass after they made a decision to change focus.  

If you go to the same restaurant for decades because the steak is incredible and they take it off the menu for say, tofu meatball salads they are going to lose some folks.  

A bummer, but why eat, well you know just because. 

Ok, it's Friday, slow day in the office but you get the point! 😉😁

[bryankazmer]

6 minutes ago, Steve_Mack_CT said:

Kerry not so much flaming as a decision to pass after they made a decision to change focus.

Exactly the point.  No longer about history and restoration.  About rodding and modifying.

[John_S_in_Penna]

57 minutes ago, TAKerry said:

I hear so many times 'the hobby is dying, Take a kid to a car show', then a publication puts in articles that may appeal to someone in that demographic and it gets 'flamed'.

 I'll politely disagree.  Modifying cars is not necessary

to appeal to younger people.  Let some other magazine

address that separate subject.  There is no need to dilute

one's mission merely to be popular;  it's often a temptation,

but in fact, it's an error.

 

Even as a child, I wanted to see ANTIQUE CARS.  No one

needed to modernize them to appeal to me. 

 

Would we add a roll-cage to a 1903 Oldsmobile to make it

safer?  Would we add an aluminum radiator to a Franklin

to aid the air-cooled system?  Should a museum put a

350 Chevy engine in a horse-drawn stage coach to be "cool"?

No!  We preserve history.  We want to appreciate the

technology of a period.  People were pretty smart back then.

[John_S_in_Penna]

I was thinking:  Hemmings, years ago under

Terry Erich, was such a part of our old-car 

community that it was almost a friend.  People

loved it, favored it, used its hats and tote bags,

almost as they would a favorite sports team

or their alma mater.

 

Now, I think the overall feeling towards Hemmings

is ambivalence.  And with the changed tone, the

addition of modified vehicles, it's going into disfavor.

 

 

Edited December 3, 2021 by John_S_in_Penna (see edit history)

[JV Puleo]

8 minutes ago, John_S_in_Penna said:

 

Even as a child, I wanted to see ANTIQUE CARS.  No one

needed to modernize them to appeal to me. 

 

That is exactly how I felt. I have NEVER been interested in modified cars or hot rods and I've been attracted to early cars (i.e. 20s and earlier) as long as I can remember. I've no explanation for where that comes from because no one in my family has ever shared that interest. I bought books but only attended my first antique car show after I graduated from HS...my dad wouldn't have been caught dead at one.

[Walt G]

Terry Erich was indeed a great guy as is Mike Lamm and Richard Lentinello- they both know how to read their audience and know what to present in a variety of cars , subjects and topics. My own view and interest is primarily in vehicles made before 1950; BUT recently I have come to appreciate more the postwar era from 1950 to 1970.  I always like a bit of the unusual - custom bodies on the Ford Model T is an example , and if a story is told then great images and photographs have to accompany it as well. I have viewed a lot of material over the decades but there is still a ton of stuff out there that I have never seen. The publications need to seek that and share it, just like material here on the forums is shared. Even  recognition of obscure (?) or little known companies can make me think - that was part of the total picture to make a car whole. One company supplied just about all the coach builders with the custom seat springs made to order and ready for upholstery, they were in central NY state and their factory was right across the road from a rail road line so that the train could stop, finished springs be loaded and then on their way to the body builders.

[Pfeil]

On 12/1/2021 at 1:41 PM, Matt Harwood said:

Print is dead and it knows it. At least you guys are technically proficient enough to be on the internet where the information now lives, unlike a majority of your peers who regard the internet as some scary, technically complex new fad and still insist on using paper and pencil to conduct all their business like they did back in 1968.

I'll have to remind myself of that while working under the dash of my car with my monitor and keyboard instead of a good old, printed service manual.

[Pfeil]

1 hour ago, John_S_in_Penna said:

 I'll politely disagree.  Modifying cars is not necessary

to appeal to younger people.  Let some other magazine

address that separate subject.  There is no need to dilute

one's mission merely to be popular;  it's often a temptation,

but in fact, it's an error.

 

Even as a child, I wanted to see ANTIQUE CARS.  No one

needed to modernize them to appeal to me. 

 

 

Why do we like old cars, bicycles, motorcycles, surfboards, buggies, airplanes, boats etc.

I myself like them for what they are and for the feeling of what it was like. If I bought a vintage airplane, say a P-47 Thunderbolt, then why would I want to put a couple of J-34 turbojets on pods? Guess what? It's not a Thunderbolt anymore.

Occasionally some us guys like to take our old cars out for a drive ( Like driving to lunch today ) and what fun it is to experience a car and what it feels like driving it back when you bought it new. Two of my old cars I bought new, two of my cars I've had since the 12th grade and one of those I bought new.

 

Some people like these old cars because they can make a living restoring them

Some people like these old cars because they can make a living selling them

Some people like these old cars because it reminds them of a simpler time

Some people like old cars because they are simple

Some people like these old cars because driving one is like getting into a time machine.

Some people just love them.

 

Modifying old cars without a purpose (this doesn't mean disc brakes because driving an old car you drive the car to its abilities) gets you nothing more than a used car. After all isn't that what AACA is all about?  

                                       

[Pfeil]

2 hours ago, Steve_Mack_CT said:

Kerry not so much flaming as a decision to pass after they made a decision to change focus.  

If you go to the same restaurant for decades because the steak is incredible and they take it off the menu for say, tofu meatball salads they are going to lose some folks.  

A bummer, but why eat, well you know just because. 

Ok, it's Friday, slow day in the office but you get the point! 😉😁

I've got two friends that own restaurants and both of them are the head chefs. A few things that are really essential. Good staff, consistent quality of food, and whatever you do, you do not decrease the portions of food. Customers will tolerate price hike, but they will not tolerate smaller portions.  

[Matt Harwood]

39 minutes ago, Pfeil said:

I'll have to remind myself of that while working under the dash of my car with my monitor and keyboard instead of a good old, printed service manual.

 

Actually, I've found far, far more answers while stuck under a car trying to do a repair by looking it up on my phone than by getting out from under the car, going to a swap meet, finding and buying a paper manual, and then going back to work on the car.

[Steve_Mack_CT]

6 minutes ago, Matt Harwood said:

 

Actually, I've found far, far more answers while stuck under a car trying to do a repair by looking it up on my phone than by getting out from under the car, going to a swap meet, finding and buying a paper manual, and then going back to work on the car.

No tech forum beats Benzworld.  I have been under the hood, perplexed, posted a question and had an answer within minutes.  Great group!  Just don't ask what oil to use or US spec. Vs. Euro spec headlight preferences. 😁

[Paul Dobbin]

I have been a Antique Car Guy all my life.   I have restrored many cars, 1915 to 1965, and enjoyed driving them.   We have enjoyed 41 National Tours

including 11 Great American Races for cars 1941 & Older, 12 Glidden Tours, a Nickel Tour, 7 Sentimental Tours, 4 Founders Tours, 6 Divisional Tours,

Several Buzzy Tours and countless Regional Tours.   All except one in real antique cars.   Once I had sold my 34 Ford Phaeton and took a modified

car on a Sentimental Tour.   3 die hard antique car guy tried to buy it.

I have built a couple nice Resto-Mods, that looked original, but had modern drivelines,   I llke them all but have to admit the modified cars got alot less use then the antiques.  Now I have the hots for another stock brass Model T, maybe with a ruxtel.  There is just something about a car that's 32 years older than me.

 

Edited December 3, 2021 by Paul Dobbin (see edit history)

[edinmass]

I guess I was way ahead of the curve, I dumped Hemmings 14 years ago....... and I haven’t missed it. At one time it was a highlight of my month. 

[8E45E]

44 minutes ago, edinmass said:

I guess I was way ahead of the curve, I dumped Hemmings 14 years ago....... and I haven’t missed it. At one time it was a highlight of my month. 

If it was that long ago, you would be referring to Special Interest Autos magazine, its predecessor.  I also miss the content of that magazine, which highlighted the unusual.

 

Craig

[Pfeil]

1 hour ago, Paul Dobbin said:

I have been a Antique Car Guy all my life.   I have restrored many cars, 1915 to 1965, and enjoyed driving them.   We have enjoyed 41 National Tours

including 11 Great American Races for cars 1941 & Older, 12 Glidden Tours, a Nickel Tour, 7 Sentimental Tours, 4 Founders Tours, 6 Divisional Tours,

Several Buzzy Tours and countless Regional Tours.   All except one in real antique cars.   Once I had sold my 34 Ford Phaeton and took a modified

car on a Sentimental Tour.   3 die hard antique car guy tried to buy it.

I have built a couple nice Resto-Mods, that looked original, but had modern drivelines,   I llke them all but have to admit the modified cars got alot less use then the antiques.  Now I have the hots for another stock brass Model T, maybe with a ruxtel.  There is just something about a car that's 32 years older than me.

 

Collectible Automobile recently did a feature on a restored 170D. Great car. When you could buy a new 1951 car with 1936 styling!   

 

[Pfeil]

2 hours ago, Matt Harwood said:

 

Actually, I've found far, far more answers while stuck under a car trying to do a repair by looking it up on my phone than by getting out from under the car, going to a swap meet, finding and buying a paper manual, and then going back to work on the car.

Most car collectors have a manual for the car they collect.

[f.f.jones]

I just read the AACA mission statement (copied below). Unless I missed something, I did not find anything that encourages or discourages modified vehicles. There have been a number of administrative and member posts discouraging modifications, but unless the "official" rules have changed and are written elsewhere, I really can't find where modifications are prohibited.

(show judging,and other competitions excepted) I am not advocating modifications to collectible cars, Just seeking clarification.

Maybe this can be explained without the emotion that this and other threads have evoked.

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Since its inception there has been something about the sight, sound, and feel of the automobile that stirs the imagination and the desire to experience the freedom of the open road. Whether it’s the clatter of the single cylinder brass era car or the heavy thumping of big block Detroit musclecars that fuels the addiction, we are all kindred spirits. Vintage cars, trucks, buses, and motorcycles are our bond.

Since 1935, AACA has had one goal: The preservation and enjoyment of automotive history of all types. From National Meets and Tours to Regional events, AACA is here to bring enthusiasts together through exciting National activities, friendship, and Antique Automobile… an award winning 100-page full color magazine.

We have something for everyone. You don’t have to own a vehicle or know how to turn a wrench. You can be involved at any level you wish. Whether it’s joining our judging teams, doing research in our vast library, or taking the family through the excitement of a National Meet or Tour, the possibilities are endless. Also make sure you visit the world class AACA Museum here in Hershey, PA the “sweetest city on earth.”

So, spend time with us and others sharing your passion. Join up. It's less than the price of a tank of gas and lasts all year. Then check out our Regions and Chapters to find one near you. Get behind the wheel of AACA. We know you’re going to love the ride.

 

Antique Automobile Club of America
800 W. Hersheypark Drive
Hershey, PA  17033
store@aaca.org
717-534-1910