Jump to content

MMM's arrived!


Tony Jones

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 58
  • Created
  • Last Reply
Guest Tracker

Nice feature on Lincolnshire.

 

Handy accessory guide.

 

Big advert for 'Forever Leisure - who ever they might be - never 'eard of 'em!

 

Otherwise the mag is much as usual including lots of pages of so called 'road tests' without, quite DISGRACEFULLY again in my view, any mention of any reversing issues or even any words of warning for those seeking buying guides - which is what a road test is supposed to - isn't it?

 

How on earth are new buyers researching a new van supposed to protect themselves when the major magazine publishers do their best to avoid any consumer advice or warnings on well known and well established problems which might upset their advertisers lack of integrity?

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tracker,

the roadtests are a joke, a complete and utter nonsense, some of the testers are from cloud cuckooland, they must be writing the reports from a well prepared manufacturers script. There are some well put together motorhomes out there but also some dogs as well. I have been on factory visits to Auto-trail and I've always been impressed with the build quality and their after sales. What's the point of buying an expensive toy if you can't get minor problems put right by the dealer or manufacturer.

All the Motorhomes should be tested by Jack Bancroft, he doesn't pull any punches and if he say's the transmission is faulty then it's faulty or whatever. Even then I'll bet the editor censors his comments so as not to upset the manufacturers or dealers concerned

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi rolandrat

I feel you are being a little harsh on the MMM testers,

After all the person who has done most to bring the transmison fault to the attention of the rest of us, is (or was ) a MMM tester, Andy Stothert.

I share your admiration of Gentleman Jack, but think Jonathan Lloyd is much the better writer. :D :D

Also it has to be born in mind that many of the testers are not full time staff, but contributors, subject to legal and editorial constraints.

By and large I think that they do a strenuous and demanding job very well.

 

Regards PKC.

765468399_testingmmm(600x450).jpg.f9d2305a60b8df019825e8a5f84652a5.jpg

429020681_tester2(600x450).jpg.fdfecd6d410a7b4a8eabe801ff283a4c.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Tracker

Andy Stothert may well take issue with being called a 'tester'!

 

I seem to recall that he prefers to be known as a 'photographic journalist' - something that in my view he is rather good at!

 

As I understand it, Andy's involvement in the great reverse gear saga has come about mainly through his own unfortunate experiences with the ever caring and customer focused (NOT) Fiat Group.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Tracker
Hymer C 9. - 2009-07-20 2:11 PM

he seems quite impressed with the letter from the man who has had his judder sorted seems you have to keep on at them. Carol.

 

Yes, I agree, it's great result - but look what he had to do to get it!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Tracker
duetto owner - 2009-07-21 12:33 PM

 

being new a few months ago signed up to MMM but cancelled after yesterdays. was not our cup of tea too many ads and reviews of new vans.

 

only enjoyed the letters pages and accounts of trips.

 

I am inclined to agree about many of the articles not being to my taste either.

 

However I still consider that even with my many years of experience the info gleaned and the contacts and info available from some of the advertisers each month is well worth the forty quid or so that it costs me every year - so to my way of thinking that ought to equally apply to relative newcomers too - or maybe not?

 

As, or so it seems, the majority of Motorhomers appear to like the current format and content I doubt it will change in the near future. C'est la vie!

 

Reviews of new vans would much be better and more credible if they addressed all the issues and not just the ones that react favourably because all that achieves is lost credibility and misinformation to the newcomer.

 

That said anyone who buys a van solely on the strength of a magazine report without a lot of internet research, a very good test drive and a close eyeball examination of all aspects is, in my view, totally barmy anyway!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi all

We went out for the day yesterday to Oxford, just in the car. Weather stayed dry if not exactly warm and we had a good day. Walking down the drive at home with the prospect of a couple of cool tins of the brewing industry's finest I said to the co-pilot that it would make the day if the MMM had arrived.

It was there and it is perhaps not one of the best months offerings, but I reckon that it is still miles better than all the other motorhome magazines put together. It will keep me quiet for a couple of weeks.

We also subscribe to Practical Motorhome, and feel that is now no longer worth the money every month and will be cancelling the subsciption.

 

To be fair to the road testers I did notice Jonathan Lloyd did mention the ability of the two Fiats to reverse in the head to head test.

 

I find some of the best road tests are the readers "living with " articles. These give some more of the down side as well as the upside.

Anyway that's sufficient from me , I don't have anything to do with MMM and Uncle Mike did not ask me to write this , but I vote lets leave the mag as it is

Link to comment
Share on other sites

duetto owner - 2009-07-21 12:33 PM

 

being new a few months ago signed up to MMM but cancelled after yesterdays. was not our cup of tea too many ads and reviews of new vans.

 

only enjoyed the letters pages and accounts of trips.

 

Not sure if you are saying you are new to reading MMM or Motorcaravaning, but after 40 years of caravanning/motorhoming still find plenty of information that makes magazine worth reading.

 

While we were in Europe this year I could not believe the number of campers who had no knowledge of Camping Cheques / ASCI / France Passion and even could not believe people did not know about Aires. Anyone who reads MMM would know about these and the huge reductions in costs they give you.

 

I would certainly miss not having Andy Stoddard to read and the letters page and the many many tips and laughs we get reading it. As for the Motorhome reports I just leave them to OH who enjoys reading them and knowing whats going on in the market.

 

So I suppose its what you make of it and your choice as with everything. Carol.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

"By and large I think that they do a strenuous and demanding job very well.

 

Regards PKC."

 

Great photos PKC - the driver's seat is obviously extremely comfortable - either that or, the reading material was pretty boring?? - Can't have been the MMM though surely?

*-)

 

I agree with the person above about the Practical Motorhome Mag. We cancelled our subscription last year after taking it for a few years. Yesterday I had a call on my mobile asking me to take a 3 month trial for £3 of said mag. 8-) They must be getting a bit desperate so, feeling sorry for the guy who called, I agreed to the 3 month trial (£1 per month has to get you something) - just need to remember to cancel the DD after 3 mags received. ;-) *-)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

MMM's next in-the-shops sale-date is provided on the "Next Month in MMM" page towards the back of the magazine. The September 2009 issue's sale-date was August 27, the October 2009 issue's sale-date was September 24 and the November 2009 issue will hits newsagent's shelves on October 22.

 

Subscribers to the magazine may sometimes (but not always) receive MMM slightly earlier, delivered by post to their home address. If MMM's on-sale date were the 22nd of the month, then I guess it's possible a subscriber might receive it on the 18th, but there's little likelihood of that happening if the publication date were, say, the 27th.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Micky,

 

The 'On-Sale' date is always a Thursday and I normally receive my copy on the Tuesday before and very occasionally on the Monday.

I've just looked on the Diary Dates page and the 'On-Sale' date always appears to be the 4th Thursday of the Month, except for December when it will be a week earlier, so you should be able to plan your trips around these dates.

 

Keith.

 

Edit: The link only takes you to the Diary Dates page, you'll need to click 'MMM On-Sale date' in the dropdown to see the dates.

 

Double Edit: I've just looked at the dates again and they're from 2007 and 2008, I wish Warner's would keep things up to to date!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

And November's MMM has just arrived 2 days earlier than even I predicted.

Still at least I know I've got it ready for when we go away next weekend.

I was worrying that the postal strike would mean I didn't get it in time but maybe Warner's posted them early to try and miss the strike.

Anybody else got theirs yet?

 

Keith.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Keithl - 2009-10-17 10:37 AM

 

And November's MMM has just arrived 2 days earlier than even I predicted.

Still at least I know I've got it ready for when we go away next weekend.

I was worrying that the postal strike would mean I didn't get it in time but maybe Warner's posted them early to try and miss the strike.

Anybody else got theirs yet?

 

Keith.

 

You are very fortunate to get your copy in the month when it is due, we cannot rely on receiving our copy even 2 weeks after the published date, sometimes it is toward the end of the next month. I don't know who they use to distribute the overseas copies but sometimes they seem to come via Germany or Switzerland. We have complained a couple of times when we haven't received our copy and they have sent us another one which has arrived before the original. If we do receive our copy before the end of the month it is published in we count ourselves as fortunate.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yep came throu the letterbox this morning, p21 made me smile.

As for getting it abroad on time, maybe they should do like the aircraft mags publish it two months early ;-) As one of our austrailian customers commented when reading latest mag in the crew room "now I know why I get this mag on time!"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


×
×
  • Create New...