Auto Magazines - Commercially biased Journalism

[SoundManiac]

Originally Posted by GTO

Team-BHP remains the only mass available information resource on Indian cars that is independent of the auto industry's marketing $$$ .

We well and truly accept that GTO.

That is also why, I (am sure all others are) am eagerly looking forward to the shootout of all new cars (Polo, Figo, Beat etc) with the older incumbents (Punto, Ritz, Swift, i20, Fabia) in the hatchback space.

If carmakers can invite Team Bhp for the Test Drives, they hopefully should also be able to provide cars for a shootout. Even if the car makers cannot then fellow BHPians should be able to lineup the cars. But we need an unbiased shootout..

[rejoycjohn]

@Sidindica , rightly said , the opening statement of that 'comparo ' clearly stated that they had a winner in their mind before starting of the tests .

However , they should have handled it pretty diplomatically mentioning the cons of Polo . GTO's test drive report differs here from what the Mag did .

As a matter of fact , even I feel that they should have included at least Figo in the comparo .However we should also not forget the fact that even the polo trendline which has a price tag of 4.34 doesnt look like a base model . Last Saturday I saw a couple of them in the Bangalore roads , and the only way that I could make that it was a Trend line , was by looking at its door handles which were black in colour . I mentioned this because , anybody can make out if a car is of base trim from the way in which it looks without any difficulty for any other car in that segment , read i20 , Swift , Ritz . So personally I will vote for Polo .

Again I am not aiming for another debate on Polo vs others ( we have many already in this Forum ) .

Coming to the main question of Auto Mags being Biased , this mag made it pretty obvious with the comparo which is not quite right as they sell it for a purpose to help of make aware of the latest vehicles and the best of them to the Normal Indian Junta .

[Sheel]

I bought that particular mag because i was getting Windows Service Pack 3 with it

else i was going to give it a miss,
I likes--(in no particular order)
Motoroids(e-mag)
ACI
BSM(esp liked this month's articles)
BI(not all issues, but some are good)

@GTO-can we look forward for comparisons? Thanks

[pranava999]

Why fear when we have t-bhp? We have the best owner/user generated content here and I think that matters the most and am i glad.

I have begun to take any product review with a pinch of salt, and use it just as a source of reference.

[svsantosh]

Originally Posted by GTO

Since day one of inception, we had decided that Team-BHP will NEVER accept any advertisements...Team-BHP remains the only mass available information resource on Indian cars...

Dear Rushabh,

If it helps; I stopped buying any auto mag's ever since I joined T-BHP. I realized how inclined these guys are to manufacturers $. Yours and like' Initial Reviews and full tests are FAAR better than any mag currently in India. If I badly need to automag to do some travel timepass, I pick up the .... (BBC's fav auto show) version eventhough its on the higher $$ side. Very few mags come as close as to their's (HIS) way of criticism.

[akshay4587]

I stopped purchasing magazines,eversince i started browsing tbhp

says it all

[Rahulkool]

i don't think only money is involved in biased opinions, every person is biased towards different brands emotionally or due to other factors. Aren't we humans supposed to, we are not machines

[coldice4u]

BSM without a doubt is one of the finest mags that an auto enthusiast can find. They have so much passion in their writing and such strange and diverse topics to talk about, you just cant put em down. Mind you, they are not much into the numbers stuff. Definitely the wrong mag if you are looking for reams of data. Its more about the way a car makes you feel. But i do believe that their quality has gone a bit south as they have tried keeping up with the times. I still like those issues which came out say 7-8 years back. They had a different feel altogether then.

[nkrishnap]

Team-Bhp is a far more reliable with unbiased reviews than any of the magazines.

With every new launch the magazines go on harping about the newer vehicle that it is best car launched in that segment. The same applies again when a newer car is launched by another company.

[Satya79]

Originally Posted by akshay4587

I stopped purchasing magazines,eversince i started browsing tbhp

says it all

++1. Same here. I don't think I have read the auto mags for over 5 years now. I happened to read the ACI review on their website....the last 2 lines go "With a starting price-tag of Rs 4.34 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) for the base petrol model, the Polo offers fantastic value for money. And we wouldn’t be wrong in saying that the Polo is the new benchmark for the premium hatchback segment"
Hyperbolic to the extreme to call it a new benchmark for premium hatchback!

This is just like the auditing practice - when you are being paid by the one you are auditing, surely a few corners can be cut.

[wildon]

Originally Posted by ph03n!x

Isn't that why T-BHP has an edge over the auto magazines?!!

Have you ever heard of term PAID AUDIENCE and PAID REVIEW. Thats the difference between others and T-BHP.

Originally Posted by Rahulkool

i don't think only money is involved in biased opinions

There is only one thing involved and thats called MONEY.

Have you seen the featured products reviews in Television ?! Its all paid jobs. As the XYZ company wants to promote the products they usually tie-up with the *** Television channels for a slot to review the product which is biased. In this case both are earning money, only those of who are watching ( us ) are fools.

[agspins]

Don't really understand these day what exactly the auto mags are about, most of them most of the time, makes you feel like they are some sort of auto product catalog.Tests and comparo's seems are purely to make certain manufacturers happy.Rightly said by Sid they had made up their mind for Polo.Gone are the days of Auto India and Indian Auto, where you had no frills and only pure info.

[jmshaw]

Agree with the train of thought on this thread, magazines are ultimately somebody's opinion + commercial interest at work. Works the same way in most consumer industries where perception reigns over reality.

[lifeonwheels]

Magazines are certainly biased towrads brands due to obvious reasons posted earlier.

ACI & BSM though are a little better and TG also is good to read if fun is what one is looking for. OD on the other hand seems to have degraded the most. Buying an Overdrive issue is one of the worst ways of spending Rs 100 for an auto enthusiast.

TBHP has one more advantage over magazines apart from the ones mentioned. It is an interactive resource and that makes a big difference. In a mag you read and article and that's it but here one can immediately or very soon get clarifications for anything related to a review or opinion and that is what makes the user experience way better than magazines.

[PhiGolden]

I absolutely agree that TBHP is the best thing that happened to petrol heads this side of the invention of the wheel.

Team BHP will benefit people who have some knowledge of automobiles and can make his own judgment from the plethora of conflicting opinions .
Average Joe will be better off buying a magazine because they have ONE opinion, biased or not. He will come out of TBHP more confused than Before (consider the Honda City Overprized thread)