AUTOCAR MAG - Haymarket get it wrong again!

Autocar 12 sept has a good feature on GTAs page 74

Yep, got my copy today and will be reading it in a minute.......flicked through it earlier and was gob smacked to see the red GTA spread across two pages . I have been waiting for AUTOCAR to see the light again for years!!.

[phildini]

And the Fuego is right at the back of the mag!!!

[stephendell]

Sorry to be a party pooper but as far as I am concerned it is not a good feature.

See below:

Dear Editor,

On 12th September 2007 I received an email from a disappointed and apologetic Chris Wenban regarding the High Mileage Hero article featuring his car. The text is self explanatory:

Hello Stephen,

...The long awaited Autocar 'high mileage heroes' article has been printed in this weeks magazine. However apart from the pictures, which are definitely my car, the script bares little resemblance to the conversation that I had with the journalist. They have credited an owners club that I have not come across and even spelt my name incorrectly. Many of the other details are also wrong . Good exposure for the Marque but poor detail I am sorry to say , even called my car a 610 at one point . Sorry about that. Chris

Chris and I had discussed the planned article at length previously. I had taken time to provide much information for James Ruppert via Chris and all the comments in the 'How to pick the perfect Alpine' section are mine. Chris assures me that James Ruppert had been given the details of the correct club 'Renault Alpine Owners Club' for the article credit, yet somehow again Club Alpine Renault have received the credit despite not being involved in any way and there is no mention of the Renault Alpine Owners Club. To add insult to injury the car featured was mine before I sold it to Chris.

There have been at least 3 occasions recently where Renault Alpine Owners Club cars, features or events have been credited to Club Alpine Renault. My concern is that these errors have all only occurred in Haymarket publications. No other magazine or publishing house seems to have any problem with crediting the correct club.

From speaking to Dave Richards (ex C&SC now freelance) at the weekend (World Series by Renault) it would seem that someone with editorial control at Haymarket has an agenda to promote the other club and I am becoming increasingly concerned about this. Dave has personally had at least two of his articles edited with all references to the Renault Alpine Owners Club changed to Club Alpine Renault just before publication without his consent.

Please could you explain how this is happening time and time again only in Haymarket publications.

I hope that you will see fit to print an apology or correction in the next issue and look forward to an explanation in due course.

Regards
Stephen Dell
Renault Alpine Owners Club
www.renaultalpine.co.uk

That's well out of order

You Stephen have done more for the Marque and it's followers in the last 3 years than CAR has in it's entire existance .

That's all that needs saying ........................Apart from, put a rocket up the old boys network's asp and light the fuse

To the layman (and whoever opens the letter), this might appear like the Judean People's Front vs the People's Front of Judea.... It might make sense to explain to them why there are two almost identically named clubs.

[stephendell]

Martin, we only have this problem with Haymarket publications, the main one being Classic & Sports Car who I have emailed dozens of times regarding the 'confusion'. No-one else seems to have a problem distinguishing between the two.

I am sure that whoever is responsible will know who they are and there is probably little or nothing I can ever do about it until they retire!

Other marques e.g. Ford may have 20 clubs for a specific model and they suffer less confusion.

Fair enough mate. Hope you get to the bottom of it

[phildini]

Mr Dell

does this mean we are friends again, ref my article with the Dini.

Told you I was not guilty, does Practicall classics belong to Haymarket publications???

[Alpineandy]

does Practicall classics belong to Haymarket publications???

NO.