Miata Mailing List: February 1994, Message #83
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   From: boyle@cactus.org (Craig Boyle)
Subject: Re: New magazine/newsletter?
   Date: Sat, 5 Feb 1994 23:11:20 -0500

> 
> A friend and I have been talking, in sort a desultory fashion, of putting
> together a newsletter for Miata owners, and I'm wondering if anyone out there
> has a reaction to the idea. I'm not all that impressed by the Miata magazine
> -
> I really couldn't care less about a fictional series on "the Perpetual
> Austin-Healey," and the puff pieces usually fly by just as fast. What I do
> read it for is the ads and the semi-technical stuff about new products and
> what I need to do to keep my Miata running/looking well. This is the kind of
> thing that we would expect to produce, probably bi-monthly until we had an
> assured supply of good information to write about. After that, monthly.
> 
> We already know about some people who can write, with or without editing, and
> who know what they are talking about. We will, of course, be looking for
> more;
> some of the club newsletters have some really good stuff, and we are also
> hoping to get permission to include or excerpt from them.
> 
[Stuff about technical Miata newsletter deleted]

> Is there a market for such a publication?
> 
> We'd be interested to hear from all of you out there.

Well, I'd buy it. I'm a dedicated Miata owner who isn't an MCA member
because of its Miata-nerd image. 

In reality, I don't think the market would be big enough yet. As others
have noted most Miata club members tend not to be technical/driving enthusiasts.
They are an easy sell for wooden gearshift-knobs and style-bars, but 
probably don't care for technical stuff.

The typical owner gets all his/her work done at the dealership. Several 
years from now, when old Miatas are plentiful and everything is breaking
things will be different, IMHO.


Just my discouraging $0.02.

How about writing a regular column for the MCA magazine (do they have
a regular tech section?)?

Craig
>