I see, a month or so ago, a mean-spirited reader took a poke at the Ford Ranger Raptor cover pic and story in the Feb issue of the mag…..
His beef, or so it would appear, was that the mag was wasting his time by writing what he termed ‘advertorial’ on the latest hi-tech (4x4) ute.
In support of his claim (about how shit poor old NZ4WD is in comparison with other 4x4 titles) he posted a picture of the cover of a recent US 4x4 mag, with a gravity-defying shot of a 4x4 that was obviously not a ute inching its way up a rock face in (I’m guessing here) Utah.
Usually this sort of pathetic ‘nah, nah, nah, nah, nahing’ flies straight over the top of my head. But when roving mag correspondent Richard Soult mentioned in passing that he had had some recent feedback on social media that the pictures accompanying his own reports were a bit ‘tame’ it pissed me off enough to decide that - as the bloke ultimately responsible for what goes in each issue – I was going to exercise my right of reply!
So, to all you awesome legends out there who think because we put together a local mag we are fair game, I say pull your bloody heads in!
For a start, why even bother to post something if all it is, is a pot shot? Does it, for instance, make you feel superior? Or is it simply the outward manifestation of your own feeling of insecurity and need – like a typical playground bully – to pick a soft target!
If you are in such a negative frame of mind when you are thinking about an activity you supposedly enjoy I’d hate to think what goes through your mind when you are doing something you don’t actually like.
The silly thing too, is that as far as I can see, all ‘old mate’ did with his pot shot post was expose his ignorance.
For a start we have only just run our own in-depth look at Utah’s slick rock scene, written and illustrated by regular mag correspondent Gary Cooper. It made the cover of our annual, er, annual, and ran to six pages.
For another, the Ranger Raptor has been one of the most anticipated 4x4s ever released here. And by the look of the number I have seen in use on my travels up and down the country over the summer Ford is selling as many as they can land.
For another, a 4x4 ute - the Ranger again - is and has been New Zealand’s top-selling single vehicle for the past four years. That’s not just the top-selling ute or commercial vehicle either. That’s the top seller period, with 9,904 registrations in 2018, and another ute, Toyota’s Hilux, second with 8,086 registered in 2018.
Given that the vast majority of these sales are of 4x4 versions and NZ4WD is a 4x4 magazine………….what am I expected to do? Ignore them because one mouthy reader with a bad attitude reckons they are not as bad-ass as his dirty-old Saf/Lux/Big Horn?
I don’t think so!
As I said in this column last month, NZ’s 4WD ‘scene’ encompasses an incredibly wide range of interests (aka a ‘broad church’). And as Editor, all I can do is try and steer a - hopefully - interesting, informative and entertaining course down the middle.
We’re a unique bunch as well; we like mud for instance, more than rock, and we’re doers rather than watchers, particularly when it comes to competition. Which is why I run a dedicated section at the back of the mag.
That said, I’ll always listen to, analyse, and act on criticism…if it is couched in positive terms, and – of course – if I think it is valid!
However, If you’re not prepared to front up to me in person, or via an email (to editor@nz4wd.co.nz) my message is simple; you’re obviously not getting out enough, so stop typing, shut down your computer and (if you really do actually own one) go out for a drive.
I know, I always feel better once I’m behind the wheel, and most of the time that’s not in the latest ute or dedicated 4x4. It’s in my own (paid for with my own money) poxy old Terrano!
To read the full story in the April 2019 issue of NZ4WD go to Zinio.com (March 15) or purchase your own hard copy at the Adrenalin store
