Jeff no longer is with Primedia as of August of last year. Donald Farr has been trying to do double duty as editor of both magazines since the December issue, as that was in progress in August.

Jim Smart now is the acting editor of M&F, and his first issue will be March. He is working hard to really turn the magazine around and it will take a couple of issues, but from what he has told me, and what I have seen, it's going to be great.

 

Yeap, what she said . I also spoke with Jim Smart several months about this and Jeff was let go by Primedia for various reasons. I keep expecting him show up in another auto publication soon but with a last name like "Ford", he needs to be choosey

 

This was discussed on the Boss 302 board, with one knowledgable person stating that jeff had ended up wih a parts company in Australia making soon to be released suspension stuff.

Carl

 

I liked Jeff's work when i was subscribing to the magazine.
I think he visited here a couple times.

 

Like chpierce said he is working for an Australia company who manufactures ad sells a line of suspension parts for classics and rods. He is based in the US, I have his address at home. PM me if you need it.

 

Glad Jeff landed on his feet, he gave allot to this little hobby of ours.

But judging by the look of the latest publication, these new ‘old hands’ will need to put out a little more effort if they want M&F to stick around........... I'd hardly call it an "Improvement"................. Bigger than ever advetorial, poor print registration and.............. Oh yea! Who in their right mind prints an article in RED ink on a 4 color spread of a perfectly ruined RED Shelby for crying out loud? issed:

Don't they teach these guys about that stuff in publishing 101? :wall: :no:

 

Update --- Jeff is with Revelation Racing out of Australia.

 

Yes! That article on the 68 Shelby was very difficult to read. That type of stuff has been done before with different people at the helm. DO hope that Smart starts to mention wheel and tire size in ALL his feature stories. It is a pertinent feature to know about. Have been reading MMonthly since 1982 and well remember Jim's position as editor of MMonthly. He was onboard for a bit over a year, I believe. We will be seeing more 67 stories now . Jeff surely did the 71 Mach I stories to an extreme point, but most were good. Think that Jim has done some great features (like the 65 Mustang Project Ed series) but wonder why he kind of let the KISS 68 wither on the vine. Articles appear from time to time but the continuity of the "low buck" series was lost. Also hope that mistakes get minimized. Working in print media for 21 years, do understand how **** happens, but Jeff made a lot of mistakes. And while it's been a long time since Jim did the paint article in MMonthly, still remember the statement that the early Mustangs were painted with lacquer :horror: LOL! BTW: the wheels on that 68 Shelby are ugleeee :shocked2:! There, I SAID IT!! :lol:

 

I was not very happy with this issue. Seemed very shallow and "recycled" almost. I didnt have a problem with it when Jeff was running it, ecxept for an odd issue or so, whcih may be the same as is happening here.

I emailed Jeff and didint get an answer, but talking to Donald Farr, the stories of Jeff's whereabouts all check

 

Same comment as above re: Jeff Ford's new job. He did a decent job when he was the editor. The old guys that took over have done nothing yet to improve these magazines. They are saving Primedia money by printing the same articles in each magazine. Maybe they should take a look at the revised Hot Rod magazine for ideas. Anyway not trying to bash anyone just tired of paying for 2 magazines & getting primarily the same articles. Good luck to Jeff & good luck to D. Farr & J. Smart.

 

Okay, let's clear some things up here. First, Jeff was fired in the middle of production of the December issue. Donald Farr and Jim Smart had to step in at the last minute and race to get that issue out. There are many problems that they faced in doing not only that issue but also January and February because of what happened during Jeff's term as editor. I cannot say what those are in a public forum, but believe me, it is pretty darn amazing.

Donald served as the editor of BOTH MM and M&F for the December, January, and February issues. This is more work than one person can realistically handle. Of course, things are going to be sloppy and half done. There simply isn't enough time for one person to do the job. I know that they are cringing about mistakes that weren't caught in those issues just due to time constraints.

Jim is now working around the clock on the issues, beginning with the March issue. He has already finished April and is working on May. I also know that he is absolutely exhausted but is not giving up.

It's going to take several months to make the changes that he wants and what are needed. Give him a break folks, he's very earnest and dedicated to making M&F a top notch magazine but he still has to answer to management.

On his behalf, I have asked for feedback twice here on VMF regarding the magazine and a number of you took the time to give some great input. If anyone else has any comments, let me know and I'll forward them to Jim, where I can guarantee they will be read. He has asked me to thank everyone here for the input they have sent and he agrees with what you guys have said.

 

I can understand what they are going through. I can understand that they are making changes that will hopefully make for a positive future. That said, they really don't have much time as many subscriptions are coming up for renewal each month. The trick in all of this is to not lose sight of customers. I strongly believe we should not have to see a negative impact on our dime...at least not for long. I am a fairly new subscriber...within the past 12 months. I hope they turn the corner fast. There aren't many business that can tell the customer "geez, we are really busy, sorry for the drop in quality". Rambling now...my 2cents

 

i don't know what Jeff did, but the mag is suffering because of his firing. right or wrong on Jeff's part, but there are always 2 sides to every story, so i will reserve judgement on anything that Jeff allegedly did. i'm not at all happy about what this has done to the mag. i have never liked primedia at all and i beleive there are probably many things that happened that didn't have anything to with Jeff at all but more likely had to do with primedia's attitude toward the mags, it wouldn't surprise me at all if they killed another of them off like they did with mustangs illustrated, just to deepen their pockets. i think MI was a great mag for the low buck tech articles and i also think Jeff did a good job of stepping in to try and keep some low buck stuff in M&F at the behest of some of the advertisers who didn't get their parts used in the buildups. i know Jeff had some run-ins with primedia over that very thing and i am of th opinion that was probably a big factor in his firing. say what you want and defend who you want but i will always be of the opinion that primedia's pockets were what caused this event.

 

Laurie, didnt mean to upset you with my comment, just stating what I saw. I talked to Donald Farr during the trails as well. I certainly will continue to subscribe, but honestly, I liked Jeff, I liked and will like the mag, and was sorry to see him go. However, clearly he didnt align with the direction his bosses wanted, so whatever internal specifics everyone is talking about,he like us all have to work for someone

What kind of feedback does Jim want? Put him in contact with me (or me with him) and I'll give my input

 

You Go Girl!!!! :: Laurie's very right. Mustangs & Fords magazine is in a difficult place that they have difficulty finding good stories about the “Ford” part of their title. Plenty of Mustangs out there, but fewer other Fords in the classic sense, hence many Mustang stories that are also represented by what’s in Mustang Monthly. Mustang Monthly appears to be moving more into the Fox, SN-95, and ’05 and beyond stories as the cars are continued to be built new and more young owners become Mustangers.

Mustang & Fords magazines is still pretty true to the classic Mustang and Ford owners. Over the last few years they appear to have more and more restro-mod stories because that appears to be where the hobby is heading. I appreciate the so-called recycled stories because I didn’t have my present 1970 Mach 1 a few years ago when they were written. I’ve subscribed to both magazines for a number of years but can never find the back issue that showed a particular item I need to fix now that five years ago I could have called less.

Give Jim and Donald a chance and offer up constructive criticism to make both better magazines for not only us but for future generations of Mustangers who ( “God forbid”) will want to add 20” wheels, neon lights, and a 1,000 pounds of stero equipment to go with their “NOS” one day. :winkgrin:

 

What did Jeff do to get fired?? I'm also a classic VW fan and Primedia just killed VWTrends, so needless to say, I'm not too happy with them.

 

No problem, I just wanted to set the record straight as much as I can. Obviously, there is a lot that I can't say here.

Jim would like any feedback on the magazine, good or bad, suggestions for articles, tech ideas, you name it. Here's your chance to really be heard as to what you would like to see in the magazine. If you want to PM me the comments, I'll forward them or you can contact him directly at Jim.Smart@primedia.com When you do, mention VMF so he knows it's coming from the people who know what they're talking about. :winkgrin:

 

I was and am disppointed in receiving the latest mag's...They seemed that I received the same mag with two different titles.

 

I know where Jeff Ford is. I am he that you seek. =-)

Ok VMFers hrer is the scoop.

1. I can not, due to my signature on legal documents much too lengthy and complicated to mention, say why I was fired from Primedia. This gag order will remain in place for one year from my firing date. At that time, if you are still interested, I will be happy to go into the whole thing.

Also understand that I was on the verge of leaving under my own steam when I was let go. Within six months I had planned to be gone. This was due to several things. One was financial (editors at Primedia are not as highly paid as many may think) and the other was the health and welfare of my aging mother and father in South Carolina (we're in Florida, an eye bleeding mind tearing nine hour drive from them). Since Primedia will not allow editors to work remotely, my only alternative was to quit and "move on." Sadly I was let go before I could do it gracefully.

Due to the above factors I had been courting the folks at RRS, a suspension company that deals in strut front end conversions for unitbody Fords (www.rrs-online.com)<shameless plug>, for a couple of months prior to my firing with an eye towards helping them grow their US market--I liked the product a lot and felt that it really could make a great impact on the suspension market. The pluses with the company were that I would be able to live where ever I wanted and that I would be able to help them direct the sales--something new for me; and that I stood to make some money for my retirement fund--something that was not happening on my Primedia salary.

Persuant to that, I am now with RRS.

3. As for Primedia, I hope that all of you understand that the pressures of the editors job were/are huge, you might consider giving Jim a bit of slack on the hanging rope many are dangling right now or better yet, take it off his neck all together he deserves at least that. I do not envy Jim the task that has been set before him. With staff now cut and budgets probably tight (I have no first hand knowledge of where the budgets are for 05 but can imagine they must be squealing since they have not brought on a new editor yet)Jim is having a hard time doing that job.

4. For the record my last issue for Mustang and Fords was the November issue. I was planned out through January. But planning and actual stories are two different things. I can "plan" to have steak tonight but if the steak isn't in the fridge then we'll probably have Spam. So yes, I would imagine that that alone will effect the books in the short haul. However, I feel that Jim and Wayne can definately bring it around to the ideas that the new publisher, Terry Shiver, has for the title.

By the way, not only did I leave but the art director (Scott Stratton) moved over to Mustang Monthly. This change alone has effected the look of the magazine.

5. I have no hard feelings toward the the books or the folks at Primedia, stuff like this happens and I'm happier now than I have been in over a year. Understand that I will be around and even be in here posting more often now.

RRS is also going to have an e-magaine shortly that will focus on modification tips and tricks as well as how to get the most out of your suspension and steering. I'll post in the forums as soon as the site is ready.

For now let me say this. I hope that you all will give Jim, Donald and the crew some slack. They are under even more pressure now than we were before. I can't imagine how tough that job has become--it was hard enough before. Show some support and encoragement. Those guys are human, and are not being paid near enough for what they are having to do.

If you would like to chat with me or order a catalog (its the least you can do for an old editor buddy) call me at 866-805-1878. I'll be happy to chat with you and send out that catalog.

866-805-1878
863-409-2654

Jeff Ford
CEO sales and marketing for RRS

 

Well congratulations on landing on your “feet”, Jeff. I was afraid you’d end up at a Chevy mag, and with a last name like yours, it could be traumatic. Don’t be a stranger on any of the forums and keep us updated. If your new company has a website and some good stuff for Mustangs, let us know and post a link. Best of luck in your new endeavor and career.

 

I appreacite your kind words. We do have product available for the Mustang, check out the web site at:

RRS suspension products.

My e-mail is rrs4usa@aol.com

As I said I'll be more involved in the forums now that I am free of the magazine pressures. If you have any requests or questions please feel free to contact me.

BTW like the avitar 70mach03! The P47 was one bad mama.

Jeff

 

Great, don’t be a stranger. You plan on converting your’72 Mach1 over to an Aussie Falcon GT now? (LOL). There were some sweet ones at Carlisle couple of years ago.

The P-47 Thunderbolt was the probably the powerful forerunner of the later ’64 Ford T-Bolts, only with 28-cylinders and 3350 cubic inches vs 8-cylinders and 427 cubes.

Check out this link below and you’ll see my 8-cylinder Mustang along with a 12-cylinder Mustang I wanted to drive and a 2-cyliner Mustang that I did “drive”.
http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/607923/6