Hello Len and Company!
I'm glad to see that people are curious about the new magazine, and what
its goals are, and I would like to describe them briefly here. First and
foremost, its a print periodical. We will be featuring different 928's,
having different tech articles, special interest stories, race highlights,
etc. The magazine is feature article based, not column based. That means
that you wont have the same 6 guys writing about the same 6 topics every
issue, the feature articles will drive the magazine.
Secondly, the magazine hopes to help organize local 928 owners. I belong
to a regional group called
PacNW 928 Owners Group.
Like the landshark OZ group, we are what we call an "anti"-club.
We have no dues, no officers, no hassles. If someone wants to do an event,
they do it and whomever wants to show up shows up. We have two dyno days a
year, two 928-only track days a year, an annual go kart race, a day of
drag racing, and lots of social events. It is my hope that
928 Forum can help other groups
get motivated to have and hold these kinds of events. It will do this by
letting its subscribers know that these groups are out there. Your most
recent Frenzy for example...events like that should have coverage, and in
928 Forum they will if someone
does the write up..
Lastly, and maybe most important, is that 928 Forum is attempting to build
and bolster the market for the production of aftermarket 928 parts. There
are very few 928 parts vendors out there. Not a surprise when you consider
that we as 928 Owners are not a unified market.
Because of the typical 928 owner's anti-organization/Lone Ranger attitude
(we are all like this), and the relatively small volume of our cars
produced, we are a difficult market to capture, and are for the most part
non-existent. We have the big three here in the States,
928 International, 928
Specialists, and DEVEK
that provide a variety of OEM parts and aftermarket pieces. But there's
room for many more vendors to cater to different aspects of our cars. I am
personally pursuing different providers of parts/services that either have
a limited or no 928 specific parts/services, and asking them to develop
the same. We have had several cottage industries start up in the last
couple years that focus on 928 parts/service, and now they have a place to
advertise,
928 Forum.
It it my hope that we can strengthen and broaden the 928 aftermarket for
the good of everybody. The last 928 rolled off the line almost 7 years
ago, the parts won't be produced forever unless we decide to do something
about it. It's also interesting, if you look in a current issue of
Excellence or any Porsche magazine, how few 928 parts there are available.
If you look at copy of Excellence from the mid '80's, performance parts
for our cars were much more plentiful.
928 Forum will be shipped
internationally, it's just a question of the cost which we should know in
a couple of weeks. The magazine isn't meant to interfere with any local
groups or clubs. At the same time, we need a focal point as 928 owners to
make us accessible to vendors, and to also share in our experiences as 928
owners. The magazine can't compete as far as tech info with the various
list serve groups and websites that are at there, and it isn't meant to.
It also isn't meant to supplant what local groups are doing. It is to help
supplement those things in a way that only a print periodical can.
I believe it's cause is worthy, and I hope that you find purpose in what I
have written. It would be great to have the members of your group submit
articles, or if you have any local vendors, submit ads. The ultimate goal
of the magazine is to encourage interaction between 928 Owners, not to
preach to them. I hope you all will take part.
Adam Birnbaum. 928 Forum, Editor
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LANDSHARKOZ
ENTHUSIASTS
It's really truly a magazine for
enthusiasts by enthusiasts.
928 Forum Magazine was created and is published by a
volunteer group of 928 owners here in Washington State in the
U.S.
The magazine is set up as a non-profit
corporation. No-one on the eight person staff gets paid, in
fact we pay for own subscriptions. All the subscription money
goes into producing the magazine and this is an expensive
magazine to produce. Upon inception it was agreed that if we
were going to do a magazine, it was going to be first class.
928 Forum is printed on 100 weight paper,
very heavy. It is also in full colour, including all of the
ads. Unlike other auto mags which are 70% ads and then a bunch
of short attention span pics and articles, 928 Forum focuses
on a few very in-depth articles every issue. When we cover a
topic, we leave no stone unturned.
It's this attention to detail that we offer
that other magazines can't and the best part, it's all about
928's. This is even extended to our ads. Each ad in 928 Forum
is 928 related, or has a 928 in the ad.
I would like to thank our current
Landsharkoz subscribers and look forward to seeing more folks
from the landshark list on our subscriber list.
I think you will find 928 Forum Magazine
very informative, enjoyable and at times very funny. Just as a
side note, we now have subscribers in 12 different countries.
It's been very exciting times for the magazine and we all at
928 Forum look forward to making the magazine better with
every issue.
Thanks for your support. - Adam Birnbaum,
928 Forum, Editor |
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