Corvette Enthusiast Is Latest Casualty in Automotive Magazine Consolidation

Corvette Enthusiast becomes the latest Corvette magazine to close shop and merge with one of its sister publications. That’s according to an email that was sent on Friday to article contributors by Amos Automotive Publishing. The email announced a new title from Amos called Auto Enthusiast and then dropped the bomb that its seven automotive niche publications which include titles aimed at Corvette, Chevy, Mustang, Mopar and Pontiac enthusiasts would be consolidated under the new title.

Over the past few years, Automotive Magazines targeting the Corvette niche were everywhere and in fact we counted seven titles that served Corvette owners with quarterly or monthly editions. (Corvette Fever, Vette, Corvette Quarterly, Corvette Magazine, Corvette Enthusiast, Corvette Market and Vette Vues). We often wondered if there were enough subscribers and advertisers to make each publication successful. Unfortunately, it appears the economy will once again have the final say yet again.

The closing and consolidation spree impacting the Corvette magazine niche essentially started last year when GM shut down Corvette Quarterly, the official magazine for Corvette owners. Facing bankruptcy and a government bailout, GM announced that the Spring and Summer 2009 editions would be put on hold and they are still on hold over a year and half later. Earlier this year, Source Interlink said it was merging Corvette Fever with Vette magazine. The first issue of the newly expanded Vette magazine hit mailboxes just last week.

One of the major differences between Amos and its competitors was the ability to view digital copies of the magazine free of charge. Whereas subscription and advertising sales are the mainstay of the magazine business, we wonder if the lure of free copies in exchange for trying to get more page views for advertisers was putting the cart before the horse. I guess we’ll know the answer to that question if Amos offers free digital stand alone editions of the new magazine.

According to the email, it looks like this is a done deal with final issues wrapping up production this month. We sent an email to Andy Bolig, Editor of Corvette Enthusiast, but have not yet received a reply. Here is the email that was sent to contributors of Corvette Enthusiast:

Dear Contributor

Amos Automotive Publishing is excited to announce the creation of a new title, Auto Enthusiast. This new monthly magazine is designed to provide a one-stop location for those who are truly enthusiastic about the auto experience.

The creation of Auto Enthusiast represents a new direction, one that requires the consolidation of all existing titles (Cars & parts, Chevy Enthusiast, Corvette Enthusiast, Mopar Enthusiast, Musclecar Enthusiast, Mustang Enthusiast and Pontiac Enthusiast). You are being notified because you have contributed to these titles or were contacted about providing work for those titles.

The final issues of the eliminated titles are in various phases of production. All titles will have completed their run by September 15.

We thank you for your past efforts with these titles. Auto Enthusiast will capture some of the key elements enjoyed by readers from these publications. Some items (news, events, columns) will be directed to our upcoming internet presence to allow more immediate dissemination of material, allowing the print product to work hand-in-hand with new media. Until the time for the launch of the new media platform, we are only dealing with material for the print publication.

If you have outstanding work that has not been published, we will endeavor to get the material into print if it is consistent with the direction of Auto Enthusiast. Our outgoing editors will be asked to provide a list of assignments with the status of those assignments. We are asking you as contributors to notify us of your pending or completed assignments so that we may be able to cross-reference these lists and get a clear understanding of the material we have at hand. We would like to continue to seek ways of working with valuable contributors as we move forward with Auto Enthusiast.

Of course, there will be plenty of questions and I ask that you direct those questions to me so that I may assist you. I will strive to return your call as quickly as possible, but there is a lot of work remaining and time is of the essence.

Larry Jewett
Editorial Director – Amos Automotive Publishing
Editor – Mustang Enthusiast

We’re assuming that existing subscriptions for all the Amos automotive titles will be rolled over to the new Auto Enthusiast magazine. The real question for Corvette Enthusiast subscribers will be whether or not they care reading about Mustangs, Pontiacs and Mopars in addition to Corvettes. We’ll wait to see the first issues before making a ruling.

Related:
Corvette Quarterly Magazine Suspends Printing
Corvette Fever to Cease Publication; Merge with Vette Magazine