Has CVC changed a bit? This months issue seemed different, but still a bit crap…
Evening all, Nathan, while you have the current editor of CVC, it will never improve! Too “matey” Im one of the lads, again cropped, for reasons of space, a good story. Marsh and Baxter. It could have been done over two issues, even Nick Larkin could see that! And as for the other lot, Moretons, Ive asked if my subscription could be transfered to one of their Motorcycle titles, I simply cannot bear the self important, inacurate, writings of the self styled “historians” that write for them. Patently, the editor knows very little about our industry, or else he would see the glaring inaccuracies peddled by these self styled “historians”. Still I suppose it sells the magazine!! Cheerio for now.
i couldnt agree more with all your comments and it is not only CVC who dont take any notice of what readers want - that attitude is widespead, i had an article printed last year and prompt payment arrived not long after, this year i was waiting to hear if my 2nd article was going to be printed after having sent off a load of photos that had not been printed in any mag . well thay have had a change of editor and my letters and emails have gone unanswered so i sent a letter saying that i would like my stuff back - no response then without warning the article appeared with the wrong captions and old text!
Disgusted of tunbridge wells!
Being a rather sad person, I’ve being buying copies of TRUCK from the late 70’s to the late 80’s.
Where did it go wrong? The old copies are great!
Re; old truck mags, I used to get Truck (inc Truck and Driver), early 90s; I used to annoy my english teacher as they were my choice of reading instead of fiction books (I could never understand why made up stuff was encouraged, take the bible 
)
Anyhow, Railfreight Distribution running Foden 4000s 
Douglas Concrete when 8wheelers went to 32t gross and reviews of BRITISH lorries…
These old mags still seem better reading than modern mags, although Trucking is my modern mag of choice (with the exception of that stupid blinged up Scania tipper) they dont feature spotlights and bullbar wagons like T and D seem to…
Muckaway:
Re; old truck mags, I used to get Truck (inc Truck and Driver), early 90s; I used to annoy my english teacher as they were my choice of reading instead of fiction books (I could never understand why made up stuff was encouraged, take the bible
Anyhow, Railfreight Distribution running Foden 4000s
These old mags still seem better reading than modern mags, although Trucking is my modern mag of choice (with the exception of that stupid blinged up Scania tipper) they dont feature spotlights and bullbar wagons like T and D seem to…
There are a few that put a lot of goodies on their tippers Nathan.You will have to get to a few more of the shows next summer.I agree about the magazines being poor.I used to buy most of them years ago.Now I just buy the Commercial motor and Heritage Commercials.I did buy the December Truck & Driver because TNUK member Rowly Ward’s Scania 141 is the centrefold pic and their is an article about him.
Cheers Dave.
Endit:
Being a rather sad person, I’ve being buying copies of TRUCK from the late 70’s to the late 80’s.
Where did it go wrong? The old copies are great!
I’ve kept every copy of T&D since it came out. Also copies of HC and CCV since 2006. I just cannot bring myself to throw them out. I wish I’d kept the old Headlight magazines I religiously bought every month, I only kept one for some unknown reason. Cheers Haddy.
ive started to think that all cvc is just wanting british lorries theres bout 100 pics of them and maybe 1 foreigner shud be bit more of the more modern stuff as thats wats going to the shows and runs now at least heritage commercials see thiss and hav there classic truck section
Maybe I have missed an issue or two but what has happened with the Classic Truck insert?
Maybe the feedback isn’t too good and people just want to see pictures of another BRS Bristol (please don’t lynch me BRS fans - we restored an ex BRS vehicle into it’s original colours) or people getting all misty eyed about the last time they climbed Shap before the M6 opened.
Morton’s seemed to recognise a niche in the market for vehicles from the late 70’s to early 90’s so there obviously must be some demand but is it enough to warrant the coverage? T&D seems to be getting into the act lately though, must save up some folding stuff and get a wagon to Gaydon next year.
CVC did deserve some praise a few months ago though…the always good PD On A Roll was from 1986. A 14 litre 411 flying up the M1…close your eyes and imagine the noise!
I agree with the BRS thing; They dont interest me much either; More '70s-90s trucks for me please.
I was reading January edition of Heritage Coms earlier and couldn’t help but think the ex Billy Smart Mack wrecker feature was written by a CVC writer. Long drawn out Billy Smart history lesson, lots of waffle about Mack ww2 era trucks but very little about the truck in the magazine feature…
Muckaway:
I was reading January edition of Heritage Coms earlier and couldn’t help but think the ex Billy Smart Mack wrecker feature was written by a CVC writer. Long drawn out Billy Smart history lesson, lots of waffle about Mack ww2 era trucks but very little about the truck in the magazine feature…
Does your Missus know your wasting your “pocket money” on rubbish mags Nathan ? and don’t you go and be dressing up as “Santa” and scaring the wee Fella either!! Happy Christmas Dennis.
Bewick:
Muckaway:
I was reading January edition of Heritage Coms earlier and couldn’t help but think the ex Billy Smart Mack wrecker feature was written by a CVC writer. Long drawn out Billy Smart history lesson, lots of waffle about Mack ww2 era trucks but very little about the truck in the magazine feature…Does your Missus know your wasting your “pocket money” on rubbish mags Nathan ? and don’t you go and be dressing up as “Santa” and scaring the wee Fella either!! Happy Christmas Dennis.
It lets her have the tv remote, Dennis 
Happy christmas.
I’m sure that CVC have already featured the Bradburys Transport Atki Borderer before… anyone remember?
Doesn’t matter Fryske, its an Atkinson Borderer they have to have one in every issue even if its been in before, mind you HC probably did the same motor a few issues earlier, same as the Gallagher Trader in this months. That old guys Workshop memories are rivetting too! Franky.
yes fryske you are correct,the bordered was in cvc several years ago.must be 8 or 9 yrs.
guess they forgot! 
vwvanman0:
yes fryske you are correct,the bordered was in cvc several years ago.must be 8 or 9 yrs.guess they forgot!
I have a feeling it was 2005 or so -
Im sure that the Volvo N series that was on the cover of CVC recently had been featured by them previously.
Im fed up with seeing the same vehicles, such as that Gallagher Trader cropping up in both magazines.
There are so many vehicles that are never featured that these constant duplications are annoying.
With a couple of exceptions (Peter Davies, Arthur Ingram etc) the people writing the articles seem to have so little knowledge of the subject and produce so much waffle that you can often read through an article and know little more about the vehicle than when you started.
Having started buying Truck back in the 70s and having bought T & D, Trucking International, CVC and Heritage Coms from their first issues I have become progressively less satisfied with them.
I took the decision in the summer to read through them first on the shelf in Smiths and only buy if there was enough inside of interest to me.
Sad to say, I havent bought one issue since!
Cheers
Mark
Does T and D still fill space with kids’ scribbles, wedding pics and bull ■■■■■■■ Scanias?
Sadly so mate.
When you look back through old Truck magazines you realise just how good they were.
Early T & D and Trucking Int were also pretty good, but the last few years have been a disaster.
I do have a bit of sympathy for T & D and Trucking as I think they are both struggling with the way the industry and things are today.
There are alot fewer manufacturers around for one thing.
From the mid 80s we have lost Leyland,Bedford,Dodge,Ford, ERF, Foden, Seddon Atki etc,let alone all the engine suppliers and specialist chassis firms, so they are limited now in what they can feature & test.
Really there are only about 8 or 9 lorry manufacturers selling into the UK market.
Also at one time there was all sorts of oddball machines running about, you could put a Mack or a White on the road, you could home engineer your own wrecker, you could make your Scammell Crusader look like a Kenworth if you wanted or run your old eight wheeler for 30 years.
Most of this freedom and variety is now gone as a result of either expense or ever tightening legislation.
Probably the biggest change is in the job.
I used to love reading Long Distance Diary in Truck when I was a lad, Phil LLewelyn’s articles remain the best Ive ever read.
However, they were written at a time when there was alot of international work and even the UK work was interesting. Roads went through places and you used to see things.
Most goods were delivered to the end user rather than into RDCs and most drivers were not working silly shift patterns and swapping trucks every day. Even the great Phil L would struggle to make a day run to an RDC exciting!
Health & Safety would prevent doing to much in quarries or on site and alot of factories/manufacturers would not want to let a photographer and journalist on site.
Plus with the way the economy is probably not many firms want to be interviewed for the magazines and tell us about their work/customers in case someone else pinches them.
So may be they do the best they can these days?
What do you think?
Cheers Mark
p.s Yes, I have finished for Christmas and have too much time on my hands to be writing long posts like this