[HJones1313]

I'm posting this simply out of annoyance, which is [unfortunately] aimed squarely at High Performance Pontiac magazine, only because it's a mag that I read regularly. The comments I'm going to make can be said for many other car mags. What I'm talking about is the inane attempts to make the article more exciting; at least thats what I assume the writers are trying to do, where a short sentence is given embellishment, e.g; "drops the hammer and stretches the Goat's legs", instead of, say, launches quickly. Don't knock my example, after all this purely my opinion.On page 20 -24, Aug 2014 issue, "A wolf in Goat's clothing", there were just so many of these artistic bits of grammar I had to write something; here's the list from said article.

"hit of giggle juice"
"to open up the GTO's lungs"
"waved the white flag and surrendered"
"pushrods keep the top end synchronized"
"cam orchestartes the system"
"a battalion of boosted air"
"into the gullet of the mill"
"puts this dictator's power to the pavement"
"under the hood of this prowling Pontiac"
"monitor the engine's vitals during active duty"
"condensed air molecules in check adn flowing without interruption"
"pass the ponies to a stock T56"

and the last sentence of the article;

"This monster of a GTO has some big teeth and knows how to use them"

Reasons for my dislike?

I'm getting old,
They annoy me,
I've read too many technical manuals,
They annoy me,
I'm becoming a grumpy old man,
Did I mention they annoy me?

[Stuart]

You know, I was just thinking about this when reading the latest issue...I understand there's a certain style of writing for automotive journalism but some of their stories do push the boundaries.

I do enjoy Rocky Rotella's tech articles and his writing style.

[MYGOAT]

The only people that can get away with doing this are the guys from the English Top Gear Show.
We had an Aussie version and they just sounded stupid.

[lust4speed]

So did the guys on the American version.

I would think the goofy creative writing might be out of boredom. The writers are searching for a different way to say the same thing that they have to say over and over again. Otherwise we might get "The GTO went exactly like the last 200 I've tested."

[Deadhead]

How about the big secret of putting the vac hose under the air cleaner lid? I thought a lot of the stuff was grade school and dumbed down to the point that it was near as bad as the new exhibits at the Smithsonian.

Amen on the annoying.

[The Boss]

Everything has to be bigger than it is these days - nature of the beast.

Peter Klutt recently did a segment on his show about the primer process on the early B-Bodied Cuda & Challengers. He detailed how the bodies were dipped to a certain depth, then the cars were sanded and exterior and engine compartments were primed again in a different color. There was no fluff, just some very detailed and interesting notes on how these cars were truly done and how they should be correctly restored. It was one of the best segments of car television I've seen in a long time.

[Half-Inch Stud]

That's typical writing for April issues. Was it an April Issue?

Road & Track did an article on a Locomotive. Power, 600 HP
Handling; " As if on rails "

[David Jones]

I do like HPP.
I will note that if you removed the useless chatter it would be down to about 15 pages.

[HJones1313]

Originally Posted by David Jones

I do like HPP.
I will note that if you removed the useless chatter it would be down to about 15 pages.

I like it too. Funny thing is you're probably right!

[Bob Dillon]

Let me help youse guys out.

I wrote a newspaper column for 11 years. It was a lot of fun and got me a lot of community recognition, and even brought in a few bucks.

But editors want words. My column was 700 words. Part of the deal is you're always looking for column material. Mine had to be on local issues, which can be quite restrictive, so, 700 words could be a stretch.

What to do when the spellchecker says you only have 600 words, deadline is an hour away, and beads of sweat are popping out on your forehead? Fluff time! You expand the description of your subject matter. Adjectives are your friend!

And that's probably what's going on here. Remember, the subject matter is Pontiacs, not cars in general, so their subject matter is restricted in a way in which a writer may not like.

Hope this helps.

[Rocky Rotella]

Guys, I encourage you to share your comments (positive or negative) about High Performance Pontiac magazine with editor Chris Phillip. He's very reasonable and approachable and welcomes reader feedback. He can be reached at christopher.phillip@sorc.com.

[HJones1313]

Originally Posted by Rocky Rotella

Guys, I encourage you to share your comments (positive or negative) about High Performance Pontiac magazine with editor Chris Phillip. He's very reasonable and approachable and welcomes reader feedback. He can be reached at christopher.phillip@sorc.com.

I appreciate yoiur open-mindedness Mr. Rotella, and to be honest I'd think the vast majority of HPP's readership would not appreciate a change in the style of writing by your staffers. As far as I'm concerned, it's a minor annoyance that won't stop my reading HPP; I'm simply voicing my opinion.

[Rocky Rotella]

I appreciate your honest approach. I’m not sure if you’re alone in your opinion or if it’s shared by others, but you’re a reader and I know Editor Phillip values it. Should you choose to share that with him, I know he’d certainly listen to it.

I just want to point out that all the bylines you see in HPP (beyond Editor Phillip, of course) are Contributing Editors. That’s a fancy name for a freelancing author. So even though some long timers like Don Keefe and I may seem as if we’re HPP staffers, we submit stories for consideration like others, and are sometimes assigned some too.

Thanks for reading and enjoying HPP and please always feel that you can share your opinion and HPP will listen.

[Speargun]

Many years ago I had a job as a parts guy at a small International dealership. I would end up with a lot of down time so I brought in 5 or 6 years worth of old Car Craft, Hot Rod, and other monthly car rags.
I went through all of the magazines, cover to cover, over a several month period and discovered that after about 24 to 36 issues (if that) the same old stories would get regurgitated with a slight new spin and more exciting headlines.

Most of the articles testing the newest, golly gee whiz, all of the cool kids have one, gadget, usually ended up presenting it in such a way that made it look like THE accessory to have... even if it was a total peice of crap.

I let all of my car magazine subscriptions expire after that.

About 10 years later I re-subscribed and almost every single article could have been a re-write from the 10 to 15 year old magazines.

I guess there are only so many ways to install a distributer or bolt on an intake.

[242177P]

When I see superfluous writing, well, a cheesy phrase sums up my thoughts; You can't use that much naws, you'll blow the welds off the manifold. If the writing isn't natural...

That's not to say writing back in the day wasn't any less challenging. Using "soup" as automotive jargon was a source of irritation. These were supercars. You could supe them up. Yeah, it sounds the same, but when it's in print, it's a menu item.

[HJones1313]

Originally Posted by Speargun

I guess there are only so many ways to install a distributer or bolt on an intake.

Not unless you....."fill the distributor hole with sparky goodness to carefully conduct the cacophony of ignition events to the patiently waiting spark plugs". Well, you get the idea.

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by Speargun

Many years ago I had a job as a parts guy at a small International dealership. I would end up with a lot of down time so I brought in 5 or 6 years worth of old Car Craft, Hot Rod, and other monthly car rags.
I went through all of the magazines, cover to cover, over a several month period and discovered that after about 24 to 36 issues (if that) the same old stories would get regurgitated with a slight new spin and more exciting headlines.

Most of the articles testing the newest, golly gee whiz, all of the cool kids have one, gadget, usually ended up presenting it in such a way that made it look like THE accessory to have... even if it was a total peice of crap.

I let all of my car magazine subscriptions expire after that.

About 10 years later I re-subscribed and almost every single article could have been a re-write from the 10 to 15 year old magazines.

I guess there are only so many ways to install a distributer or bolt on an intake.

I can say with authority that when my Chevelle was covered in the magazines it ran in three venues with exactly the same photos and text:

Popular Hot Rodding:
http://www.popularhotrodding.com/fea...olet_chevelle/

Super Chevy:
http://www.superchevy.com/features/c...e/viewall.html

"Chevelle: GM's Mid Size Muscle Magazine" (I didn't even know there was such a thing).

They just photoshopped out the various logos and put their own in.

K

[bird72]

it IS hilarious to read the quotes stacked like that. Like every time he had to say something he invented a phrase that jingled and wowed (in his mind)

I like fact, figures, stats, details, odd trivia, and PICS, gimme that stuff. If the topic WOW's, no need for grandious, elevated, delisionally self induced verbosity bordering on the pompious and more belonging on a grandstand or politicians pulpit or echoing like raging horns of Satan in some contradictory church of litany and themally influenced eloquation of ryhmage and pensmanship elevated to some game of lucidity that lacks that in itself. Understand?

[400 4spd.]

For those who haven't seen the topic yet, as of today HPP is no more..

http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...d.php?t=754474

[Terry M. Hunt]

I've had similar thoughts lately. Probably the result of having been involved in the hobby for almost 40 years. I guess there are only so many ways you can write an article about a '66 GTO. I have also seen many, many "recycled" articles over the years. One of my pet peeves is the expression "spent gasses exit through a 2 1/2 inch system". What a cliché this has become, but many authors still insist on using it. It's easy to criticize something you've never had to do yourself, so I can't be too critical of the folks who bring us this content month after month. I will miss the tech articles in HPP the most. When PE folded, then Pontiac was killed off, I had to wonder how much longer HPP could last. Now I know.