Talk about being in the right place at the right time.
Hello and welcome to NZ4WD magazine’s Annual and Ute, 4WD & SUV Buyer’s Guide.
OK I’m probably a bit biased here but I’m a big fan of Annuals, the publishing industry’s opportunity to take a breath and look back, as opposed to resolutely looking forward.
Not that you will find many like this one out there in magazine land any more. Sadly, in my opinion anyway, magazine publishers the world over seem to prefer flight over fight, closing down otherwise robust and valued titles for no better reason than a (it would now appear to be temporary) downward trend in ad revenue.
Here at Adrenalin Publishing I’d like to think we are made of sterner stuff. Like many of you, I’m sure, I’m spending more and more of my leisure time scrolling through newsfeeds on my Smartphone for snippets of info on subjects I am interested in.
But that’s all they are, snippets. And in much the same way as no amount of snacking on junk food can replace a professionally catered, multi-course dinner party with good friends, I’ve yet to find a place/site/e-zine that leaves me as informed, entertained and generally satisfied, as a good old ‘hard copy’ printed magazine.
Actually, that’s not ‘quite’ true. Each month after I have signed off NZ4WD ‘magazine’ I collate what you could call a ‘lite’ electronic version which you can (and more and more of you every month do) subscribe to and receive via email.
My message here, however, is don’t believe the doomsayers who claim that ‘no one reads magazines anymore.’ Like most of the spruikers currently (ark, ark!) preaching the gospel of the ‘clean, green electric car’ they either have a thinly disguised vested interest, or axe to grind.
Demand from both readers and advertisers, saw us producing our first stand-alone SUV title, NZSUV, in September, and – earlier in the year, in conjunction with sister publication, NZ Company Vehicle magazine, we put out our first dedicated Ute Buyer’s Guide.
Both were well-received, well-read and yes we will be doing both again this year.
The real beauty of a SUV or modern 4WD ute for that matter is in its versatility. Oddly it is this feature – which comes free with even the most urban-focused models – which is the last thing buyers tend to look for.
Of course, as dedicated four-wheelers (fans and active users of four-wheel-drive) it is this versatility that draws us to the exact same vehicles, and which, handily means we are the best placed of any current reviewers here to proffer an opinion (good or not so) on an SUV or 4WD ute you are interested in.
That’s (more than) enough chest-beating, however. I’ve packed this latest Annual tight with news, views, information and feature material.
I hope you all get something out of it, be it facts, figures, or the sweet inspiration to up stakes and follow in the wheel tracks of local adventurer Robin Dicey!
To read every story in the NZ4WD Annual go to Zinio.com (Dec 08) or purchase your own hard copy at the Adrenalin store.
