September Issue MOTOR magazine (M3 GTS, 1M Coupe, BFYB and 135i/Golf R long termers!)

[Jeef Beef]

Just filled up at Caltex this arvo and thought I'd grab the newest issue of MOTOR magazine. All I can say is, wow. I'm gonna pour over this baby for hours to come.

As I waited to pick up my brother from his school, I flicked straight to the long term's section. For those who don't know already, the MOTOR team have a Montego blue 135i coupe 6MT for the next few months. They've already put down some impressive performance figures with the car in bone stock form (0-100 in 5.22s, 400m in low 13s and a 1:11 Wakefield lap).

This month, they've fully decked out the car with BMW performance bits. The most visually striking of which are the BMW performance 313 rims. Bloody hell they are nice. I am so tempted to click the 'order' button right now. The Performance Power Kit was the other major mod, along with various carbon fibre bits, a short shift kit and Dunlop SP tyres to replace the Bridgestone RFTs. With this they managed to pull a 5.07s 0-100kph time!

Funnily enough they hated the Dunlop tyres and preferred the stock RFTs, mainly because they had less grip and weren't able to beat the 1:11 at Wakefield with them. Maybe our tyres aren't so runCRAP after all. Still, this month's story makes me want to succumb to the mod bug and blow 2 months worth of pay on my car

So yeh, the team has a Golf R, Evo X and 135i to play with for the next couple of months. Now that's an awesome long termer fleet if I ever saw one.

Otherwise, there are interesting articles on both the M3 GTS and the 1 Series M Coupe. The journo seems quite confident in the claim that the 1M will run 250kw/500nm as seen in the 'is' engines. If that is really the case, then I'm slightly disappointed. Hopefully that info is still speculative. He was absolutely blown away by the lap around the Ascari track however, and there's a picture of him bowing down to the bonnet of the test mule

The Bang For Your Buck segment features diesel Bimmers (330d and 123d) who both scored okay, which was an interesting result compared to the other petrol cars in the test.

Anyway enough rambling by me. Just go out and buy this month's BMW packed issue!

[BMW86]

I'm looking forward to getting mine in the mail. Apparently there is a delay for the Sept issue so I won't get it until next Monday at the earliest.

How many pages is there on the Performance 135i?

[Jeef Beef]

Originally Posted by BMW86

I'm looking forward to getting mine in the mail. Apparently there is a delay for the Sept issue so I won't get it until next Monday at the earliest.

How many pages is there on the Performance 135i?

Unfortunately there's only a single page like the Evo X. This month, the Golf R gets the full double page spread. The July issue had the 135i on the double page spread when they first got the car.

The other parts of the mag are still well worth it though. I've always liked MOTOR and their comparos (Tuner Showdown, Bang For Your Buck, Performance Car of the Year etc.) There was even a comparo a while back between a Hummer H3/Cayenne Turbo/Territory Turbo/Wrangler...and M1 Abrams Main Battle Tank. Hilariously good read

[Orlin]

looks good, ill be getting on this one.

[m 135]

Yeah, i am buying this mag now with the 135 long termer in it,cannot believe they paid $6000+ for those rims and $4000+ for a tune .

Shame they dont have the 135 in the bang for your buck section though,agreed it is a good read this month.

[x5mad]

Definitely a few tasty treats in this issue. Reading mine tonight. Have always preferred motor to wheels. The guys over at wheels are so far up holdens ass that they don't even realize, and when someone writes in to point this out their response and reasons are just so FOS. Motor gives more coverage on European cars and don't paste holdens on their cover every month.

[Jeef Beef]

Originally Posted by m 135

Yeah, i am buying this mag now with the 135 long termer in it,cannot believe they paid $6000+ for those rims and $4000+ for a tune .

Shame they dont have the 135 in the bang for your buck section though,agreed it is a good read this month.

I believe the 135i was featured in the 2009 issue and scored amazingly well.

Originally Posted by x5mad

Definitely a few tasty treats in this issue. Reading mine tonight. Have always preferred motor to wheels. The guys over at wheels are so far up holdens ass that they don't even realize, and when someone writes in to point this out their response and reasons are just so FOS. Motor gives more coverage on European cars and don't paste holdens on their cover every month.

I'll have to agree with this. HSV/Holdens every month at the front, even when it's just a 'spy' pic that looks like crap (this month's issue). MOTOR seems to drive better cars (though most months they have the exact same comparos to an extent).

Also, this month the mag explains the 'twin scroll' setup in the N55 as opposed to the twin turbo in the N54 in the Tech section. Concise and easy to understand

[Guran]

Originally Posted by x5mad

Definitely a few tasty treats in this issue. Reading mine tonight. Have always preferred motor to wheels. The guys over at wheels are so far up holdens ass that they don't even realize, and when someone writes in to point this out their response and reasons are just so FOS. Motor gives more coverage on European cars and don't paste holdens on their cover every month.

[rant]
That's utter rubbish. Stupid remarks like this really annoy me.

Neither of these magazines are biased towards Holden or Ford. Over the years, people have accused WHEELS of being either Ford or Holden biased, depending on whichever Falcon/Commodore was the best at the time. That's all crap. They call it how they see it. They are extremely reputable motoring journos, and are truly passionate about what they are doing, IMHO.

Holden bias at WHEELS? You obviously didn't see the July 2010 issue which devoted about a hundred pages to the 50th Anniversary of the Ford Falcon.

Both magazines give preferential treatment to Holden and Ford with covers and feature articles. That is perfectly OK to me since they are an Australian magazine and these are Australian cars. If these magazines didn't feature Aussie cars, no-one else would. They'd feature Toyota more highly too if they produced cars with any soul.

Both magazines give plenty of coverage to other makes. Aug 2010 issue of WHEELS has Porsche at Bathurst, Rolls Royce Ghost, Corvettes in UAE, Ferrari GTO, Polo v Fiesta v Mazda2, Lexus v Audi v BMW v Jaguar v Merc limos, Audi A1. Tell me how that doesn't cater to what you demand from a car magazine.

I firmly believe WHEELS is one of the best car magazines in the world. WHEELS has been in continuous publication since 1953 and is an Australian institution. The plethora of former WHEELS writers/editors who are now running car magazines in the US and UK proves that the world values WHEELS too.

[/rant]

[BMW86]

I have subscriptions to both Wheels and Motor magazine. I've only been reading both magazines the past 12 months and I personally enjoy reading Motor magazine more. I think it comes down to the fact that Motor has more content and articles about cars I'm interested in particularly newer European cars too and are pretty up to date on rumours and spy car material. Wheels isn't too far behind, they cover a lot of the same material but there is a lot of coverage for the Holden/Ford fans. I don't mind reading about the latest Aussie performance cars (HSV & FPV etc) but I'm not so interested in the standard spec Aussie cars they review time and time again. All in all, I enjoy both magazines but will probably only renew the Motor Magazine. At the end of the day the latest ground breaking cars are reviewed in both magazines and are usually on the cover of both magazines at the same time so essentially it comes down to personal preference.

[banglemangle]

Originally Posted by Guran

That's utter rubbish. Stupid remarks like this really annoy me.

The mangled one settles in for a night of good, old fashioned biffo :-)

[x5mad]

Originally Posted by Guran

[rant]
That's utter rubbish. Stupid remarks like this really annoy me.

Neither of these magazines are biased towards Holden or Ford. Over the years, people have accused WHEELS of being either Ford or Holden biased, depending on whichever Falcon/Commodore was the best at the time. That's all crap. They call it how they see it. They are extremely reputable motoring journos, and are truly passionate about what they are doing, IMHO.

Holden bias at WHEELS? You obviously didn't see the July 2010 issue which devoted about a hundred pages to the 50th Anniversary of the Ford Falcon.

Both magazines give preferential treatment to Holden and Ford with covers and feature articles. That is perfectly OK to me since they are an Australian magazine and these are Australian cars. If these magazines didn't feature Aussie cars, no-one else would. They'd feature Toyota more highly too if they produced cars with any soul.

Both magazines give plenty of coverage to other makes. Au
g 2010 issue of WHEELS has Porsche at Bathurst, Rolls Royce Ghost, Corvettes in UAE, Ferrari GTO, Polo v Fiesta v Mazda2, Lexus v Audi v BMW v Jaguar v Merc limos, Audi A1. Tell me how that doesn't cater to what you demand from a car magazine.

I firmly believe WHEELS is one of the best car magazines in the world. WHEELS has been in continuous publication since 1953 and is an Australian institution. The plethora of former WHEELS writers/editors who are now running car magazines in the US and UK proves that the world values WHEELS too.

[/rant]

And this is exactly what i am talking about. This would be a typical wheels response. I should have been more clear and put Holden/ford. And one issue does not make for a typical publication. Yes I do have that issue, in fact I have every issue of motor and wheels for the past 3 years and so my comment does hold weight in that yup here we go again another front cover with ford/Holden plastered on the front cover. I call it how i see it. I challenge you to go back through every wheels issue for the last 2-3 years and tell me that ford/Holden does NOT feature on the front cover at LEAST 50% of the time.

And when challenged and caught out the typical response is that these are motoring icons, relevant to Australia, of significance to the local market blah blah blah. So in fact indirectly admitting to that THERE IS significant coverage on ford/Holden.

The issue you talk about was indeed a very good read, and for the very reason that thank god it was not all ford/holden again. There is a place for this and nothing wrong with reviewing the locals but there is a limit whereby it all gets rather repetitive, boring, and same old same old. There is no magic number but it seems motor seems to have it just right and they still manage to cover both Holden and ford without making it boring.

I can see from your comments that you will stand firm in your beliefs and that's alright. The choice is yours. I only get wheels to read what snippet they do have of other Marques. I never said anything about their journalism skills, only that they have an awful lot of coverage of Holden/(ford).

When i have every issue of both for the last 3 years I do believe my remark is not without merit and backing. How is this stupid? Not intended to start a magazine war but calling it how I see it, which I am sure other members would have noticed - not hard. Bound to ruffle a few feathers but no ones perfect and at least we have choice.

Enough said I think, apologies to OP for taking this off topic. Once again another good and enjoyable issue of Motor.

[Blacky]

TBH, I can't tell the difference.They generally are running the same cars either the same month or the following month. Sometimes I think they even run the same photos.

One of my pet hates is their historic articles, when they have nothing good to write about new cars or they are all on holidays, they will bring up old classic i.e. GT or HSV. If I wanted to read about 10 or 20 year old cars I would pull the mags out from under the spare bed!

[MrBlonde]

Never read either of those magazines. IMO they are for kids who can't afford to have a car.

[mra]

On the topic of motor magazine, I'm looking forward to next month's issue with the tuner challenge, some pics here:

http://www.vwgolf.net.au/showthread....Shoot-out-2010!!!

[sparoz]

Originally Posted by MrBlonde

Never read either of those magazines. IMO they are for kids who can't afford to have a car.

I sort of agreed... I used to read those magazines when I can't afford those cars. Now I look at forums to decide on my purchase. I even stop looking at those magazines for the cars that I can't afford, eg mp4-12C , as there are more facts on the net, and less journalism (or at least you can find the facts and ignore the journalism).

It is a pity most articles now presents opinions as facts. At the end of the day, when I select my vehicle, I look at the user reviews on the net (or in forums!), and test drive the car, and select accordingly.

[RadiuM]

god damnit, just as I cancel my subscription due to it getting boring they start doing more on the 135i.

I think I started to find it boring because I was reading more and more car sites on the net and these are up to date to the minute while the magazine starts to become over a month old in some news area's.

regarding bias, I never saw it, they seem to put on the cover whats popular that month. When the GTR came out my partner would go "is the gtr on the cover again?". Which it probably was for about 6 months in a row

[Taymaishu]

To throw another spanner in the works..

I never have subscribed, and probably never will, to any car magazine.

I find that there's never really anything constantly that grabs my interest from any magazine, and if i find there is, then i'll simply buy it at the servo or newsagent.

[Jeef Beef]

Originally Posted by x5mad

And this is exactly what i am talking about. This would be a typical wheels response. I should have been more clear and put Holden/ford. And one issue does not make for a typical publication. Yes I do have that issue, in fact I have every issue of motor and wheels for the past 3 years and so my comment does hold weight in that yup here we go again another front cover with ford/Holden plastered on the front cover. I call it how i see it. I challenge you to go back through every wheels issue for the last 2-3 years and tell me that ford/Holden does NOT feature on the front cover at LEAST 50% of the time.

And when challenged and caught out the typical response is that these are motoring icons, relevant to Australia, of significance to the local market blah blah blah. So in fact indirectly admitting to that THERE IS significant coverage on ford/Holden.

The issue you talk about was indeed a very good read, and for the very reason that thank god it was not all ford/holden again. There is a place for this and nothing wrong with reviewing the locals but there is a limit whereby it all gets rather repetitive, boring, and same old same old. There is no magic number but it seems motor seems to have it just right and they still manage to cover both Holden and ford without making it boring.

I can see from your comments that you will stand firm in your beliefs and that's alright. The choice is yours. I only get wheels to read what snippet they do have of other Marques. I never said anything about their journalism skills, only that they have an awful lot of coverage of Holden/(ford).

When i have every issue of both for the last 3 years I do believe my remark is not without merit and backing. How is this stupid? Not intended to start a magazine war but calling it how I see it, which I am sure other members would have noticed - not hard. Bound to ruffle a few feathers but no ones perfect and at least we have choice.

Enough said I think, apologies to OP for taking this off topic. Once again another good and enjoyable issue of Motor.

That's pretty much how I see it as well. I've been getting Wheels, MOTOR and Top Gear quite consistently each month and MOTOR usually comes up trumps. It just has more interesting news, 'first drives' and editorial sections. Wheels does have decent journalism, but sometimes their content is just a bit bland. TGA is an entertaining read but quite crap on the journalism department.

Again, both aforementioned mags are usually great reads, but there are times when Wheels focuses WAY too much on the domestic brands. Maybe because I am young, but the 50 page tribute to the Falcon I found to be rather dull.

Originally Posted by Blacky

TBH, I can't tell the difference.They generally are running the same cars either the same month or the following month. Sometimes I think they even run the same photos.

One of my pet hates is their historic articles, when they have nothing good to write about new cars or they are all on holidays, they will bring up old classic i.e. GT or HSV. If I wanted to read about 10 or 20 year old cars I would pull the mags out from under the spare bed!

Both Wheels and MOTOR are owned by ACP magazines, so usually the cars they get on the big comparisons are the same. However, they usually pick different routes for their drive and MOTOR always takes the cars on track for more performance oriented data. Sometimes, they even come up with very different conclusions.

[x5mad]

Agree with some/most of above comments. The Internet, forums and test drives will give you most of what you need to know when buying or researching a new car. The main reason I buy them is because that's what my patients want whilst in the waiting room amongst many other magazines.

[Jeef Beef]

Originally Posted by x5mad

Agree with some/most of above comments. The Internet, forums and test drives will give you most of what you need to know when buying or researching a new car. The main reason I buy them is because that's what my patients want whilst in the waiting room amongst many other magazines.

+1. Business expense is a wonderful thing

[BMW86]

Originally Posted by Blacky

TBH, I can't tell the difference.They generally are running the same cars either the same month or the following month. Sometimes I think they even run the same photos.

One of my pet hates is their historic articles, when they have nothing good to write about new cars or they are all on holidays, they will bring up old classic i.e. GT or HSV. If I wanted to read about 10 or 20 year old cars I would pull the mags out from under the spare bed!

Agreed! Sometimes I feel like they're trying to fill in the pages too.

I was waiting in a workshop for my car to be ready once and I picked up a jap tuning magazine to read that was lying on the table. Those magazines are 100 x worse. They are full of advertisements and so much junk and have hardly any content or reading material on cars. Wheels and Motor are much better.

Originally Posted by MrBlonde

Never read either of those magazines. IMO they are for kids who can't afford to have a car.

I'm kind of the opposite. I only buy the magazine hoping they have an article on my car so I can hang onto it.

Originally Posted by Taymaishu

To throw another spanner in the works..

I never have subscribed, and probably never will, to any car magazine.

I find that there's never really anything constantly that grabs my interest from any magazine, and if i find there is, then i'll simply buy it at the servo or newsagent.

I was the same but the cost of paying for an annual membership is almost half price to what you pay at the servo/newsagent so it works out to be very cheap. Plus it comes delivered to you in your mailbox which is always a pleasant surprise. I think they've missed a couple of my issues though

[sparoz]

Originally Posted by x5mad

Agree with some/most of above comments. The Internet, forums and test drives will give you most of what you need to know when buying or researching a new car. The main reason I buy them is because that's what my patients want whilst in the waiting room amongst many other magazines.

that's just an excuse It is always good to have some car magazines to choose from rather than all those women's day etc...