[mgarblik]

Is it correct to assume that many folks on this message board are also POCI members? I have been a member for about 46 years, member number 4199. I enjoy the high quality magazine, thick paper, varied articles from 1926-2010 vehicles. I feel they do a good job preserving the brand, hobby and history. In the latest issue, they mention a change to 9 print issues a year vs 12, effective immediately. All 12 issues will be available on-line. Citing "exponential" cost increases in printing costs as the reason.
Now, it's no secret that the POCI crowd is an old group of people. I am 65 years old and usually feel like a youngster among the POCI crowd. I have many older friends that are POCI members in their late 60's and in their 70's. Many of them do not own a computer, have zero knowledge of how to use one and will never have one. I even have 3-4 friends who do not have a cell phone, not even a flip phone, and have no plans to ever get one. I know this may sound absolutely crazy to many who read this but that's the way it is. All these folks are still active, driving their cars, living and enjoying their lives without all the technology we just assume EVERYONE has and is using. I wouldn't be surprised if 20-25% of the POCI members fall into this category.
I can see the writing on the wall, 9 issues a year immediately, 6 issues the next year, 4 the following year and then 100% on-line after that. If you want to kill off the club in 3 years, this seems like the perfect recipe.

I think it's important to know your members before making decisions. I bet the current membership would be happy to pay an additional $20.00 a year vs going on-line for the magazine. For the majority of the members, the Smoke Signals Magazine is the only reason they are still a member. What do you think?
]

[burd]

I stopped years ago, it just seemed like the same thing over and over, running an ad for parts took like 2-3 months to get in, it just didn’t make sense with forums that you could post an ad instantly. around, when Don started Poncho Perfection, i stopped poci and did that.
Poci was the thing years ago, but it’s out dated now.

[mgarblik]

Originally Posted by burd

I stopped years ago, it just seemed like the same thing over and over, running an ad for parts took like 2-3 months to get in, it just didn’t make sense with forums that you could post an ad instantly. around, when Don started Poncho Perfection, i stopped poci and did that.
Poci was the thing years ago, but it’s out dated now.

I really like Poncho Perfection and also want to support Don Keefe. He is a good guy. But it's nearly impossible to get the magazine. I subscribed 2 times for 2 years at the Ames Performance Nationals at their recruitment tent. So I am over $60.00 into the subscription and have received a total of 2 magazines in 4 years. Whoever is handling the subscriptions is doing a terrible job of getting the paperwork correct and mailing magazines. I have reached out a couple times with no reply. I finally just gave up. Really disappointed because I would love to have a cop[y of the recent Norwalk coverage of the Super Duty display.

[burd]

Originally Posted by mgarblik

I really like Poncho Perfection and also want to support Don Keefe. He is a good guy. But it's nearly impossible to get the magazine. I subscribed 2 times for 2 years at the Ames Performance Nationals at their recruitment tent. So I am over $60.00 into the subscription and have received a total of 2 magazines in 4 years. Whoever is handling the subscriptions is doing a terrible job of getting the paperwork correct and mailing magazines. I have reached out a couple times with no reply. I finally just gave up. Really disappointed because I would love to have a cop[y of the recent Norwalk coverage of the Super Duty display.

Give him a call or text. My sub was disrupted when I moved. Don made good on it with me.
He does have some back issues with the SD article in, ask him

[sdbob]

Here I go. Our local POCI chapter we were just talking about this. Some of us are willing to pay for a magazine. We will drop our membership if it goes all digital.. I do not care for internet reading. At work they put construction manual on line pia, at times to look something up. Member since first Gettysburg.

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by sdbob

Member since first Gettysburg.

That would be July of 1863, for those keeping score.



K

[Don Keefe]

Originally Posted by mgarblik

I really like Poncho Perfection and also want to support Don Keefe. He is a good guy. But it's nearly impossible to get the magazine. I subscribed 2 times for 2 years at the Ames Performance Nationals at their recruitment tent. So I am over $60.00 into the subscription and have received a total of 2 magazines in 4 years. Whoever is handling the subscriptions is doing a terrible job of getting the paperwork correct and mailing magazines. I have reached out a couple times with no reply. I finally just gave up. Really disappointed because I would love to have a cop[y of the recent Norwalk coverage of the Super Duty display.

For any of you who have had problems with your Poncho Perfection subscriptions, please e-mail me at donaldjkeefe@aol.com or call me at 585-489-9826. I have just seen the messages in my inbox here and will take care of those today. I haven't been online much lately, as I am finishing up my latest book and when it's out, I will let all of you know.

In the meantime, I have taken the subscription services function back from the Cruisin' Tigers, so if any of you have any problems with getting the magazine, please just contact me directly. Thanks!

[rwfisher]

Originally Posted by Don Keefe

For any of you who have had problems with your Poncho Perfection subscriptions, please e-mail me at donaldjkeefe@aol.com or call me at 585-489-9826. I have just seen the messages in my inbox here and will take care of those today. I haven't been online much lately, as I am finishing up my latest book and when it's out, I will let all of you know.

In the meantime, I have taken the subscription services function back from the Cruisin' Tigers, so if any of you have any problems with getting the magazine, please just contact me directly. Thanks!

I contacted the subscription / membership rep for Cruisin Tigers after having issues receiving a mag for past 2 years. He finally indicated he did not see things getting better in the future and offered / completed a refund. It was indicated this was because of the time you were taking away for your book. From what I was able to find there are a bunch of members that were in the same boat so getting them to re-up may be difficult. I for one really miss getting the mag..

Excerpt from the response I received:

“You should have access to the Members Exclusive section where past issues of Poncho Perfection and Tiger News are posted. The December issue has not been printed yet due to a delay from the editor of Poncho Perfection. This has been a problem this last year as he is writing a book and put the magazine on the back burner. I’m hoping that the December issue is ready by mid-February. He has a lot of catching up to do.
Very frustrating for all of us.”

“ I don’t see this getting better any time soon.”

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

Back in the mid 80's , when I wanted to join the local Pontiac (POCI) club in Greensboro , I had to join the National (POCI) and pay them yearly dues - before I could join the local club - and pay them dues also.

All I got out of the National was the Smokes magazine.
But it was worth that admission price to be able to benefit from being in the local club.

Do the local chapters still have to require their members to be paid up members of the National too ?

[Don Keefe]

Originally Posted by rwfisher

I contacted the subscription / membership rep for Cruisin Tigers after having issues receiving a mag for past 2 years. He finally indicated he did not see things getting better in the future and offered / completed a refund. It was indicated this was because of the time you were taking away for your book. From what I was able to find there are a bunch of members that were in the same boat so getting them to re-up may be difficult. I for one really miss getting the mag..

Excerpt from the response I received:

“You should have access to the Members Exclusive section where past issues of Poncho Perfection and Tiger News are posted. The December issue has not been printed yet due to a delay from the editor of Poncho Perfection. This has been a problem this last year as he is writing a book and put the magazine on the back burner. I’m hoping that the December issue is ready by mid-February. He has a lot of catching up to do.
Very frustrating for all of us.”

“ I don’t see this getting better any time soon.”

I am more than willing to own my portion of the problems but they are not the only reason that the magazine has had delivery problems. In December of 2022, the Cruisin' Tigers website crashed which destroyed the membership records. While a new website has been built, the records have had to be restored by hand and I was told that they weren't going to continue with that procedure, so in March of last year, the remains of the membership records were turned over to me to restore. We did the best we could using old mailing lists from before the crash and with the help of the new webmaster, we have put the membership records back in order. We have extended memberships where we didn't have records and sent out emails and postcards for people who have expired.

As for the schedule, we mailed out the August issue a few weeks ago and we are sending the October issue to the printer this week. I have all of the articles in for the December issue and will get on that as soon as October ships.

As you all know, we took a pretty big hit in November when Stan Rarden, one of our columnists, died and that further set things back. Our October issue is dedicated to him and lots of people in the hobby sent in their tributes to him. It was a very emotional issue to produce and we gave him the best sendoff we could.

As for my book, I freely admit I bit off a bit more than I should have but the topic was too good for me to pass up. It's called "Pontiac Factory Drag Cars: How a Manufacturer Ushered in the Muscle Car Era at the Drag Strip." It is being published by CarTech, who published Rocky's books and Dean Fait's bio on Arnie.

I have been working on it for two years and in the rush to get it finished, Poncho fell behind. I have been working my tail off every single day and honestly, life would have been a lot easier had I never taken on this project but I truly believe that that book will be a huge asset for the Pontiac hobby and will bring a lot of interest in the topic, as we have uncovered a ton of new stories and a lot of never before seen photography. The magazine and the Cruisin' Tigers will benefit from the added publicity this book will generate.

Yes, it's true that the magazine fell behind but we are catching up and I expect that by the time that we hit the road for the summer shows, we will be caught up- maybe sooner. We will be debuting the book at the Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals and I look forward to it being completely in the rearview mirror. There's still some minor revising left to do but it's essentially finished.

I apologize to those of you who have had your subscriptions screwed up but the problems are clearing up and we look forward to some spectacular new issues of Poncho Perfection, including tech, historical articles, Department X features and the best Pontiac coverage available. Again, if you have any questions or problems, please feel free to email me at donaldjkeefe@aol.com or call me at 585-489-9826. I do answer my phone and will make right whatever has happened.

Most magazine companies have abandoned the Pontiac world. Poncho Perfection and our staff are still out there fighting the good fight and we're doing it ON PAPER. Please put some faith in us and in the Pontiac hobby so we can all enjoy it and pass it on to the next generation. The worst thing that we can do is bitch and moan about how things aren't like they used to be and dig the hole deeper. There's still one all Pontiac magazine left (no Oaklands and no GMCs) and it's Poncho Perfection. If you haven't seen it yet, sign up here https://www.cruisintigers.com/products/print-membership and get instant access to our back issues. Thanks for taking the time to read this and I hope it answers all of your questions. If not, you know where to find me.

[Don Keefe]

Originally Posted by mgarblik

I really like Poncho Perfection and also want to support Don Keefe. He is a good guy. But it's nearly impossible to get the magazine. I subscribed 2 times for 2 years at the Ames Performance Nationals at their recruitment tent. So I am over $60.00 into the subscription and have received a total of 2 magazines in 4 years. Whoever is handling the subscriptions is doing a terrible job of getting the paperwork correct and mailing magazines. I have reached out a couple times with no reply. I finally just gave up. Really disappointed because I would love to have a cop[y of the recent Norwalk coverage of the Super Duty display.

Mike, I have updated your information and have given you credit for the payments made. I started your subscription as of today and your expiration date will be 2/14/2028. Additionally, you will be getting the last two issues in the mail which includes the Norwalk coverage. My apologies for the delays, you're in the system now and updated. Thanks!

[Cardo]

I think you are right mgarblik, and at the very least it either should have been put to a vote or given the option to pay more. Frankly, that magazine is the only reason that i belong to POCI. If it goes all digital, I may not be any more. There isn't even a chapter in my area. I really think with our shrinking demographic, GTOAA and POCI should be giving some serious thought to figuring out how to merge. Both are having some problems with convention locations as it is from what I understand. Membership for both only has one direction to go from what I see....

[mrennie]

I think in the days before forums, POCI served a very important purpose, along with the ability to contact experts on specific topics when restoring a car. The classifieds also allowed the niche market seller and buyer to connect.

I am 53. I hate reading online magazines. I want the paper in my hand, I want to be able to read it when I want, where I want, dog ear the pages, cut out the Harbor Freight coupons, and keep the copy if I want.

I will not subscribe to an electronic magazine. This forum provides all the electronic information I currently need, with the ability to search a massive collective history of thousands of members. Hard to compete with that.

I understand the challenge all paper magazines are facing. Costs are increasing, readership is down, and after all, it is a business. If it does not make money, it will not continue to exist.

The only reason I continue as a member of POCI is the magazine, there have been some great articles over the years with good information, and it still has value for me. I rarely have or make time to sit and read them at home, so I save them as they come in and read a years' worth while away on vacation. The rest of the membership features like ability to ask tech questions, classified ads, or annual conventions have little value as I live too far away to participate and the internet and forums duplicate the rest, in real time.

Just my observations...

[tom s]

I wont go unline,im a tech advisor for the POCI.tom

[PAUL K]

I've been a member since 1997ish. If they cancelled the paper magazine I will not renew my membership. I kept up with my membership for the good of the hobby. The magazine was pretty much all I got in return.

[carbking]

With no disrespect intended, simply a difference of opinion:

I think the problem is being overblown in this thread. Yes, are will be some that would not stay if the magazine went simply digital, but I really doubt it would be a significant percentage.

And unless the attitude of the current administration has changed dramatically from when I was a member, good luck on getting the issue put to the members for a legitimate vote.

I have served as a tech advisor for GTOAA for a long time, a post I also held with POCI before the great GMC disaster.

Years ago, I would average 3~4 calls weekly with carburetor questions from folks telling me they found me in the magazine.

LAST YEAR I RECEIVED A GRAND TOTAL OF ONE (1) CALL!

Folks with questions now ask those questions on one of the social media forums. So either the folks that don't have computers either have no questions, or there are not that many who do not have computers.

Those of you against the current and probably future policy could write to the administrators, but as stated earlier, unless the attitude has changed, be prepared to be ignored.

My personal solution: I have a friend who refuses to own a computer. When he wants parts, or even to buy a car, he visits, we sit down with a beverage, and I look stuff up for him. Those who know folks such as this could take the same approach.

Again, just a different opinion.

Jon

[Dick Boneske]

Very disappointing. I believe most of us would much prefer an increase in dues rather than a digital magazine. This may be the beginning of the end of POCI. I'm 81 years old and have been a member since 1979.

I did not receive the January issue of Smoke Signals.

[carcrazy]

While I personally prefer to read hard copy magazines, the fact is, like it or not, everything will eventually migrate to online.

[carbking]

One other thing to consider with digital versus hard copy:

I personally have more than 150 linear feet of shelf space taken up by back issues of various magazines.

Anyone else with more back issues than they really need???

Jon

[Stuart]

Originally Posted by carbking

One other thing to consider with digital versus hard copy:

I personally have more than 150 linear feet of shelf space taken up by back issues of various magazines.

Anyone else with more back issues than they really need???

Jon

I have a spare room filled with old car and motorcycle magazines, and I don't know what to do with them. It would be a shame to just toss them out, but there's pretty much zero resale value even if I could find someone that wanted them.

I still subscribe to my local newspaper but I did switch to electronic copies several years ago. I got tired of sketchy delivery (the delivery guy seemed to miss me once or twice a week, and when he did deliver the paper he was likely to toss it into a rain puddle instead of on my front step) as well as consuming all that paper just to toss it in the recycling bin. Fortunately their electronic version is easy to read on my computer or on my phone.