Winter "05 Sport Z Magazine Highlights 35 Years of Z

[SportZMagazine]

SZM kicks off its fifth year of publication with our cover feature dedicated to the 35th anniversary of the Z car. For more details, including a sneak peak at the cover and the table of contents of our Winter 2005 issue, head over to www.sportzmagazine.com. Highlights include:

-35th Anniversary Cover Feature (with Ben Millspaugh and Brian Long)

-Shin Yoshikawa 240Z cutaway illustration

-Centerfold: Z Car Timeline. 1970-2005

-Road Tripping in a 240Z (by Carl Beck)

-All-original North Carolina 280Z

-Holiday Gift Guide (including parts discounts for subscribers!)

-How To: Installing a Fuel Pressure Gauge

Other articles include a hyper-modified 280ZX, the secrets of Grand-Am Cup Racing, a tale of two sound systems, Puerto Rican dragsters, supermodified 300ZXs, and a full listing of official SZM partner websites.*

*classiczcars.com is an official partner website of SZM

Interested? To get this issue with your paid subscription, order by THURSDAY, November 18. You can also look for the magazine on newsstands in December at participating Barnes & Noble, Hastings, and Books-a-Million stores. Details and ordering info at www.sportzmagazine.com (or call circulation, 505-771-2374). Enjoy!

Dave Bexfield

Editor, Sport Z Magazine

www.sportzmagazine.com

[240ZX]

Dave, just a little feedback from an "X" subscriber. I'm sorry to say, after two years of recieving the magazine I will not be renewing my subscription! It appears, since the release of the 350Z, the majority of your mag is mostly stuff about the 350Z! I was lead to believe the mag was about the original series of Z cars.....oh well! Maybe you should consider changing the name of the mag to "SPORT 350Z MAGAZINE" or "STILLEN 350Z MAGAZINE". It's just all too boring for me. It's probably a good magazine for newbies! However, I did appreciate you putting my 240Z in your "Z Sightings" Keep trying though!

[sahunt66]

For more details, including a sneak peak at the cover and the table of contents of our Winter 2005 issue, head over to www.sportzmagazine.com. QUOTE]

Cool web site. SportZMagazine is on my Christmas wish list.

[hls30.com]

Come on guys! Sport Z is not supported by your subscription any more, it is all about the advertising! The 350Z guys spend money on all of that stuff, to gain and sustain their readership for advertisers, the Magazine has to cater to them on at least some level. How many members here bought more than $1000 in parts from any of the major advertisers in the magazine? As a business, it has to be mostly about the Benjamins! There aren't that many high profit parts being sold and developed for our cars, and there are oodles more being sold and developed for the 350Z. The 240Z is like Latin, and the 350Z is like the latest street slang. Our market is consistant, and shrinking, and not as robust as the growing 350Z market.

Enjoy all of the Z(x)s, and treasure the 240Z. There is plenty of content for us! If you want a magazine only for S30s, figure out how many subscriptions you would have to sell to break even, and then get discouraged and quit, or do what they did-add to your target market, by incorporating more models. Remember this magazine is a business with a labor of love at its heart, don't critisize them for wanting to get paid!

We can't spend enough money to compete with the 350Z aftermarket, so all we can do is spark interest. I am going to do my part to increase 240Z coverage by doing interesting things with and to my car. Interest sells magazines, and that is what will get more 240Zs in the pages.

I enjoy the magazine as it is, occasionally with a few hopefully helpful suggestions!

The Gospel according to:

Will

[RAZ1]

Thanks Will for the support. Yes SZM was launched two years before the release of the 350Z because we knew that the only way for a niche magazine to survive was with a new Z car on the market.

If you breakdown all the articles from the past four years (and I have) you will see that the 240Z and the 350Z have recieved the most coverage and the 280ZX, Z31 and Z32 not far behind. If you bunch the Z's from 1970 to 1978 you would see that the content far out weighs the 350Z content.

I'm not trying to justify anything here, just stating facts that if researched would be found to be true. We work very hard to balance out the magazine each issue with every generation of Z's. And I think we are doing a decent job since a lot of the mail we get is from people saying we don't do enough on their car (from all generations).

We (as Z owners) have been 5+ years removed for the other Z car magazine and have been doing everything we can to show that we are here to stay and that our goal is not to take your money and run. I would hope that all the fence sitters are finally starting to see that.

Advertising is the key to our success and Will is right that that is what will ultimately make or break the magazine. But that doesn't mean that subscriptions don't matter, they do because that's what drives advertisers.

I will tell you that if I wasn't a part of the magazine, I would be a subscriber because I can't get enough Z stuff and waiting around months to get a few bread crumbs thrown my way by other magazines just doesn't cut it.

I would like to think that we offer a lot more to the Z community than any other magazine on the market. Covering Z events other magazines wouldn't think of covering, supporting Z clubs around the country, Featuring cars that might never have a chance to make it in other magazines because they might not think the Z is worthy of it.

Expansion is a good thing. It means the magazine is succeeding. Our coverage will always be balanced no matter how big we get. And it only means good things for any Z owner.

Just to give you an idea of what each issue consists of, here is a breakdown of whats coming up in the next issue:

Coverage by models:

240-280 8 pages

280ZX 3 pages

Z31 2.5 pages

Z32 2 pages

350Z 4.5 pages

G35 2 pages

Articles that cross all generations: 18+ pages

Not trying to start anything, Just wanted to show that there is more to this magazine and what we are trying to do that some might not understand and feel that it is our right to respond once in a while.

[hls30.com]

Art,

I can't wait!

Will

[Victor Laury]

2.5 years now and I'm still pacing by the mailbox, jones'n for the next issue. True there's a bunch of Z33 stuff I don't care for. But that is the only Z model I haven't developed any affinity for. keep up the good work.

[AxtellZ]

VERY well said, Will. I agree thoroughly.

I have been a subscriber since issue #2 (yes, i have a couple copies of #1 too) I agree with Victor- not every item in there was written "for me", but i still am happy as a pig in $hit when my SportZ comes in the mail!

Please be a realist in your expectations, and be happy with what you have- as for me, i'll subscribe till the last issue rolls...

[26th-Z]

I just don't get it. Is there another magazine out there catering to the S30 that I am not aware of? Kind of cutting off your face to spite your nose, aren't you there, 240ZX? I subscribe to a couple other "specialty" car magazines and I NEVER hear complaints from the guys with older models. You go SportZ magazine!

[Fun_in_my_z]

I subscribed back in the spring or summer. Do i have to renew my sub to get the winter 05? I only have 3 issues.

[jmark]

Love the mag. Of course I have a '78 280Z & a '03 350Z Track. Don't hate on the Z33.

[Zrush]

I've been a subscriber since day one of Sport Z and have all the issues. I even have the issues of that "other" defunct Z magazine. I love to read about our S30's. I enjoy seeing the other Z cars too but I'm partial to my own kind. I will continue to subscribe even if there is only a tiny blurb about the 240Z, 260Z or 280Z. It's all we have people, support it.

Vicky