I've been reading the civil war era newspapers that I bought my dad for Christmas, it's amazing to have something like that in your hands. I might have to start a new collection...

Thanks. I appreciate the feedback.

Love the idea of a print format. Old school just like the cars. Besides, swatting the dog with an I-pad just isn't right.

I subscribed! I wondered what I would get for Christmas!!! Thanks Santa!

Glad I could help. :-)

subscribed, Good luck, If you can do something as good as Esses that would be great. Thanks

Cap'n Krusty's on board! Thanks for doing this.

The Cap'n

Subscribed and tweeted link.
I'm looking forward to it.

I subscribed.

Steve, I sent you an email. I'd be glad to put together some articles for it.

I like the idea. I subscribed. Thank you.

That sounds like a good idea to me. Otherwise, I would ask for donations.

I signed up. Not sure if it took though

Having a printed copy that'll fit in the glove box will come in handy - It'll give us something to do while waiting for AAA to show up

Thanks, Steve

I subscribed. But i only entered my email address. How will you mail the mag? Did i miss that part?

When you subscribed you should have received an email that requested that you email your physical address. If you didn't please let me know.

Ah, I saw an email come in, but thought it was just a sign-up confirmation and ignored it. Why not have the mailing address info. added to the sign-up page? I better others will miss the email message too.

Ya. The service I am using for the signup page doesn't let you change it to add that.

OK. Probably will need to do an email blast once you are further along, to obtain mailing addresses.

Subscribed.
Thank you.

I like it! I do have a question however, if it is going to be a paper magazine, why is the website asking for an e-mail address? Just curious, sign me up also.
MERRY CHRISTMAS,
Tom

Greetings from Germany!

I personally really appreciate good print material and have a lot of experience over 20 years of printing my own brochures / publications here in Munich for Mike's Bike Tours, my Good Food Guide, a guide of Munich, my board game, Globopolis...www.globopolis.net among other projects, the latest being an 8 page (A4..similar to 8.5x11) brochure for a campaign I am leading in my community to have a so-called Multi Aktiv Sportplatz built here. www.mas-unterfoehring.de

That background is intended to serve as perspective for the opinion I want to express here. I know about labor of love for no profit...MAS is such a project for me, and as mentioned, I know about printing and the satisfaction one has when the product comes off the press. I called that, when my board game was finished...MIC. Multiple Identical Copies. It's sweet, yes, it is.

That all being said, I would like to offer my opinion regarding this idea of a free, as I imagine it "newsletter-like" quarterly publication. Clearly as conceived thus far it will require a lot of time (especially if it goes beyond being "newsletter-like") and require money to print and deliver. IMO a website can offer those interested more content than the magazine concept and INCLUDE the magazine format as a pdf. For those that would like to have it in hand in a relatively "production" format as opposed to just coming off their own printer...they can take it to their local Kinkos or copy shop and have them print it, which could also be done by email.

But that is not the main thrust of my opinion, which is to print a really NICE magazine on an annual basis for the following reasons:

1) consolidated material...best of the year kinda stuff in a larger, nicer magazine will have a much sweeter degree of satisfaction for you, Steve, as this would be the culmination of a year's work and material.

2) it would be something which most of us would pay e.g. $5 for which would at least cover your production and shipping costs

3) it is something that would more likely be preserved and never thrown away, so that in 50 years there would still be some or many of them in the hands of 914 owners

4) it would be easy to get AA, Camp 914 et. al. to sponsor for advertising

5) there would be less, constant pressure to get the next (quarterly) issue out

6) the website format / project would more easily allow for it to be a community project which many would contribute to.

...and I could come up with a few more reasons beyond those as well.

No matter what you choose to do, you may want to compare printing costs online with these two online printers which I have used extensively over here, just for purposes of comparison with North America prices, which I believe are higher and higher than they need to be, giving you an idea of what kind of margin the printers over there are working with. It is easy to choose a format, paper quality, number of copies, etc. and immediately find out what the cost would be, over here at least, in Euros. Multiply that figure by 1.20 or whatever the exchange rate is to get the US$ figure.

www.wir-machen-druck.de and www.flyeralarm.de

Good luck. I would love to buy your annual, top-notch production for $5. I would pay $10 for it if it was really well done, which naturally it could and I imagine would be. Again, IMO, this concept is, at least for me, far more interesting than a more frequent yet "lessor" production that would not as much be a real collector's item in and of itself. And beyond that, the idea of doing it all for free...beh! Screw free. We don't and you certainly don't need "free".

With best regards from Munich,

Mike in Munich

Wanted to edit...unedited post appeared as well as edited. Cannot figure out how to delete original post. ??

Just checked Wir Machen Druck...

152 pages, 70g inside, 300g cover...A4 (30cm x 21cm)...2000 copies: Under $2 apiece. For 500 copies...$5.50 apiece but $1,500 less total production cost.

https://www.wir-machen-druck.de/Broschuere-...detail,747.html

This is clearly just to offer an idea of print costs for a larger magazine. Larger than 152 pages not possible with them. Paper other than 70g also not, which I think is too thin.

Looking at a smaller production with 48 pages...90g inside and a 170g cover...

1,000...running at about $1.50 apiece. This, times 4 would be over $5.00 production cost per year per subscriber...and shipping...500 subscriptions...times 4 = 2000 mailings annually...2000 envelopes and over $2000 additional costs. This adds up to something like $5k per year, not to mention your time, and again, I'm not sure if you can get these prices over there, though I reckon it should be possible. Costs are in any case the same or less.

Mike

Of course I'm in. This is very cool and I appreciate your thoughtfulness to the community.

Subscribed

Konrad

Thanks for this note. with multiple email accounts I don't frequently check them all. Just responded with address.

Thank you for your thoughtful comments. They are very good points. We will take a look.

Subscribed!

Thanks Steve.

Steve,
Please put me on the subscription list.
Thank you for your gift to the community.
Jack

not sure it worked but I subscribed....... I'm in .

Steve,

I would favour the electronic format as I live in Australia.

I subscribe to the English mag 'Classic Porsche' which I download on to the iPad. In moments of boredom I often go back to re read articles from back issues without having lots of bookshelf space tied up.

It would be nice in an app form perhaps or maybe embedded in 914world as a mag without your losing ownership and autonomy.

It is a very generous concept of yours and characteristic of the overall generosity of spirit of this community. We are very fortunate.

I am sure suggestions for content will be forthcoming and so I may as we'll put my oar in.

I would like to see some profile articles of the 'elders' of this community ie people with the cred and frequent contributors. We have all been the beneficiaries of the advice from the likes of Eric Shea, Dr Evil, Mark Whitesell, Chris Foley etc and we could even profile George Hussey fromAA - a much maligned figure but I bet most of us have his catalog and 700 Hints book.

I would also like to know how the 914's we're put together on the assembly line. Who was responsible for the gearshift adjustment before the car went out the gate? Probably a topic for a PHd in anthropology

Good luck Steve. I don't think you should be doing a project like this for nothing.

David

Great idea. I look forward to reading the articles.

I just subscribed.

Thank you to everyone for their support and encouragement. Your suggestions have been very helpful. And the number of subscriptions has exceeded our expectations. Thank you. We are reconsidering our model based on your comments. We have also received quite a few emails both from people wiling to write for the magazine, as well as potential story ideas. I think you will like what we have planned. Let me give you a little of the logic behind the decision to make the magazine free.

Magazines live and die based on subscription base. The number of people that subscribe is the first, second, and third priority. The 914 niche is not large enough to support a traditional magazine, which typically enjoys well in excess of 20,000 subscribers, even for the small auto magazines. Based on research, it appears that only about 20,000 914s are left, worldwide, in total. And many of those are owned by people who own multiple cars. We truly are a small community.

In other words, we need every last 914 enthusiast to be a subscriber (please share the link with every 914 enthusiast you know). If we charge any fee at all associated with a subscription, even $1 per year, we won't get everyone to subscribe. It isn't just the $1 itself that will cause people to not subscribe. Many people don't bother if they have to send in money, or don't use Paypal, etc. Charging a subscription hurts subscriptions, and I don't want to impede subscriptions in any way.

I still believe print has value in certain situations, and cars is one of those. But, I hear your comments regarding the potential interactive benefits of a digital magazine. Those suggestions are the ones that really got me to reconsider the model. What I have been working on this week to determine if it will work is this:

Free PDF version of the magazine delivered via email;
Optional paid print magazine delivered via snail mail (all print subscribers could also receive the PDF version).


The risk of this model is that the number of paid print subscribers will be so low that it will drive up the printing costs per unit, and make it impossible to continue the print version. This is not something I want to see happen, as I believe the print version has value. And I further believe that when you see the quality that I think we can put out you will agree.

I need to know from you how many of you would be willing to pay for the print version, over the free PDF, in this model? I suspect that the paid subscription, for the quarterly publication, would be $15 to $20/year. This feedback will help us further evaluate the best way to set this up.

Here is the poll - http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?act...=0#entry2126969

Sorry for the second thread for the poll, once a thread is started it doesn't appear that you can add a poll to it.

Thanks,
Steve

Double post. Sorry.

Thanks for all of the feedback. And we have received a lot of story ideas, as well as some offers to help write articles for the magazine. I think you will like what we have planned.

Subscribed I think

Another subscriber from Australia!

Stoked, I pour through Ultra VW and Classic Porsche mag for articles on 914s with little success!!

Cheers

Craig

Thank you for all of the feedback. It has been very helpful. We are expecting the first issue (1st quarter of 2015), to mail on March 1st.

We are looking for someone that would like to write an article about the current market for 914s. Both 4s and 6s. If your interested PM me. The pay sucks. But, it's interesting work.

Other writers we need:

1. Is anyone doing a 6 conversion that would like to write about it.
2. Racing events, experiences, etc.
3. 914 events in general.

Hi Steve!

A great idea! I like a hard copy version!

As a price benchmark I suggest the following German mags to you as a benchmark.

They all are published only once or twice a year:

VW Classics (5.90 EUR)
Porsche Klassik (8.00 EUR)
Käfer Revue (5.50 EUR)

Good luck!
Kaeferfreund

Thank you for all of your feedback. It was very helpful. We have made some decisions. We plan to offer a PDF version for free and a print version for a subscription of $19.99 per year. Based on what everyone's comments, we reconsidered our model to make sure it is providing the most value to the 914 community, as well as being a sustainable project. In addition, there was an overwhelming consensus that a print version has value.

The magazine layout, styles, etc. have all be designed. Most of the articles for the first issue are in and are being edited. We expect the first issue to go to print in about a month. I will follow up with subscription info in a couple weeks. Thanks again. I really think you will like what we have planned.

Hey now I'm subscribed yippy! but reading a good portion of the folks who weren't into it because of various reasons, most concern for your finances!! so why not take donations on your website?I saw people saying money for postage,paper but no one mentioned the cost of ink! A very expensive medium indeed! I know people would donate just to have a cool mag to COLLECT!Some said save the trees and I am a lover of the earth my home but there is recycled or partially recycled ect.. so anyway I say we donate to fourteener mag !!Personally I get sick of being on the computer all the time anyway!!KUDOS

To: jeff bowlsby: hey man this will be a magazine to collect not just throw away.You know passed on to your children. LOL I bet you live in a wooden house.

I hear you. I'm not one to ask for donations. Rather than make a donation, I'd rather see everyone buy a - Save the 914 - shirt, or something. I think we have a model that will work with a free PDF (to make sure that everybody that wants it gets it), and a paid print subscription. That will cover both angles. The thing that makes this difficult is simply the size of the 914 community. While the number of people that have signed up has been very good, the overall 914 community is very small in magazine terms. Even if everyone that is active in 914world subscribed, it is still a fairly small number compared to a traditional magazine base (easily 20,000 or more). So, you can't use a traditional model with this magazine. And I am not doing this for the money. So, it's all good. We will make it work. And I think you will find the magazine provides value.

Save the 914 - http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=248231

I have an early Pete Stout submission for Twin Trunks Tribune, that I'm holding for ransom; now that he's a big time Porsche magazine heavyweight

UPDATE:

The Fourteener Motoring Magazine website is live. It is a "soft launch," and is by no means complete. The website will carry articles between issues, long running series' (like project cars), and the articles from issues after they are published. The first issue of the print magazine ran behind because of design conflicts (we are using a unique format that took some working out). We have worked them out now. In addition, given the importance of the Amelia Island honoring of the 914 I thought it would be good to include it in the first issue. The first print issue will be out the first week of April, and will include Amelia Island, Eric's Trip, and some other great stories. We will be sending emails out to subscribers in the next couple of weeks. We have decided to provide the PDF for free, and the print version for a subscription of $19.99 per year.

Very cool to see the website up, I'm in for the print subscription!!

We are excited to announce that the the first issue is done and will be mailed out the first week of April. Thank you for your support. The magazine includes:

Feature stories about 914s and their owners
Event coverage
News
Product Reviews
Tech articles
Project cars
and more

There are two ways to subscribe. We offer the print version of the magazine, mailed to you for $19.99 per year. Or you can receive the email PDF version for FREE. We want everybody to get it. Warning - the print version is awesome (removable center-fold featuring a 914, in each issue). When you see the print version we know you will want it.

PRINT MAGAZINE - Subscribe to Print version

EMAIL PDF VERSION - Subscribe to Email PDF version

Thanks Steve. Subscribed for Print!

I just subscribed for print version! Thanks!

I subscribed to both versions. Thanks!
Mark

Subscribed for print. Thank you for your work.