On May 29th, 2014, Honda Tuning magazine officially closed its doors and forever changed the landscape of our Honda enthusiasts community…
I don’t think any of us will ever really fully grasp the gravity of this situation until years later, when we look back at what might be the golden age of our community. Even as I type this, I am still struggling with the idea that I will never get an assignment from HT again. Sure, there were strenuous times when deadlines were short and there was much to do, but it was a good kind of stress. It was the kind of stress that reminds you that you’re doing something important, you know? I never let anyone know that it was on my mind this weekend but during the quiet times, it weighed heavily on my mind. So much so that what you’re reading now was typed-out by me on my phone because I just felt like these thoughts had to be documented…
My journey with Honda Tuning magazine started, ironically, on May 29th, 2007. Things were very different back then. There was no Stickydiljoe.com and I was just a guy in his 20’s who had just quit his 5-year job at an auto parts store where I was hating life as an assistant manager. 2007 was a big year for me. I grew up in San Diego and just decided one day that I had outgrown the city. I needed more from life. I made the decision to move up to Los Angeles and was just hanging out with friends that I knew up here. One day, I was perusing NWP4LIFE.com where I saw a post from a guy (who shall remain nameless), that had just been promoted to the head editor position at Honda Tuning. He said he wanted to take the magazine in a new direction and was looking for suggestions from fellow enthusiasts as to how to make the magazine better. I had some interest in doing some work for Honda Tuning so I decided to email him and ask if he needed another writer. Back in ’07, I didn’t even know how to use a camera so photography was not in my scope. I just wanted to write some stories that could possibly help me pay some bills. I didn’t really know what I wanted to do with my life at that point but magazines had always been interesting to me. The editor asked me to send in a writing sample and so I sat in front of a computer all night and wrote a piece for him to check out. He made some suggestions after he looked it over and then he said that he liked my work and wanted to bring me on…. I was stoked. HT was a magazine that was one of my favorites and also a publication that had previously featured my own Honda build a year before. Being able to work for them was a life-changing experience…
As quickly as the opportunity came, it went just as quickly…
A couple weeks after the editor had hired me on, he went and did something ridiculous and got himself fired. I won’t elaborate because it isn’t important to the overall story but let’s just say that he said something to someone that he shouldn’t have and got himself fired. Along with that firing went my hiring, because at that point, no one else had known that he had brought me on to HT. I was bummed. The only other person that I knew had been working for Honda Tuning then was my good friend Matt “Rodrez” Rodriguez. Rodrez had been working for HT for years so I let him know what had happened. Someone from another publication stepped in to take over in the interim and Rodrez passed along the info that I was supposed to get work from HT. It was a long shot but the new editor decided to give me a chance. 7 years and 4 head editors later, I was still an integral part of Honda Tuning….
Eventually, Rodrez took over the reigns as the head editor of Honda Tuning and the magazine was as great as it ever was. These last couple years have been incredible with him at the helm and I’m proud to say that I was a part of the experience. Outside of work Rodrez and I became great friends and there was never anything he could ask of me that was too much. If he needed a story or shoot to get knocked out in a short amount of time, I was the guy to turn to. I could knock out a feature story in less than 24 hours time and within the three magazines that I wrote for, I was the guy to go to if you needed something done immediately. We would go to events or even throw events where we needed shoots done the following day. We were tired, beat up, and worn out but we made it happen. Rodrez poured his heart and soul into Honda Tuning and I always respected his passion. The fact that Honda Tuning magazine shut down is not a result of his efforts. The magazine always did well, exceeded expectations, and the advertising numbers were higher than anyone ever expected. HT died because of a simple business restructuring. It was a swift move that had very little to do with the people involved. As the saying goes, “It’s just business”. But business can’t take 100% of the blame because it should have never been a decision that had to be made. Collectively, the support for print from the enthusiasts just wasn’t there with all the titles. First came Turbo magazine, Sport Compact car, then Modified magazine, and now, great titles like HT and Import Tuner. We who worked there were almost foolish and naive enough to think that Honda Tuning was safe during the transition. There was a moment when I wanted to believe that we had at least the rest of the year to prove ourselves but that was certainly not the case…
Unless you were there with us during those late nights when we had a story to finish or photos to edit that we spent hours shooting, you’ll never understand how much work went into this magazine. A little bit of us died the day we realized that HT was over…
Our generation grew up reading magazines. For enthusiasts like myself, I became a “car guy” because of print magazines. I didn’t have any family members or anything that were into cars that introduced me to it. My love of imports came from a random issue of Turbo magazine that was being passed around my classroom among friends when I was a sophomore in high school. After seeing these cars and how they were put together, I was hooked. I joined the automotive publication industry years later remembering that magazines were an important part of shaping how we as a community came to be. We drew inspiration from magazines and saw things that we never thought could be possible when it came to modifying a vehicle. The internet is this generations’ form of inspiration but we should never forget where we came from. That is why print is and will always be important. I’m not gonna be able to pull something I found off the internet 10 years later and remember every single thing about it because people don’t save the stories that they see online, they just save the photos. The stories are what matters and telling a story was my job. For the Honda community, my job was to tell you about the people behind the Honda builds that you only saw in passing online and seven years to the day when I wrote my first story for print, I fucking lost my job. It was because of HT that I was able to make the leap over to Super Street and eventually Import Tuner and that foundation is now gone. I can’t sit here and tell you to read all about guys like Ejay Adriano who built his car as a tribute to his grand parents after he was shot and nearly died because people stopped caring about the story. The internet has trained us to be careless and only think for the moment. Everyone thinks that the moment someone gives you any measure of spotlight on the internet that it automatically constitutes it being a “feature”. Let me tell you this; no feature will ever be as good as a print feature that you can hold in your hands. You’re not gonna sit here and tell me that 10 years later, you’re going to be able to show your kids what you did by showing them a print-out of some shit you found online. That is why print will always be important and will never be triumphed by something as fleeting as digital media….
We need print. From a business standpoint, you could say otherwise, but as enthusiasts, car magazines were/are every bit as important as the people who shape our community. We drew so much inspiration from what we saw in magazines like Honda Tuning and Import Tuner and now a huge chunk of that is gone. For me, print is a part of my every day livelihood and I honestly don’t even know how much it will affect me until months later. There has been an outpouring of support since the news came to pass that HT and IT are gone but the fact of the matter is, we (as enthusiasts) failed. We’ve been reminded to “support print” for the last couple of years but it apparently just became more of a saying that ultimately didn’t generate enough action. The Honda community took a huge hit last week that I don’t think it will ever recover from. Many of these guys were building their cars with high hopes that one day, they might get a shot at being considered for HT and now that dream is gone. Everyone needs some form of inspiration and something to strive for but that has been taken away from them. It’s scary to think that the only form of motivation and desire to build a Honda now, besides your friends of course, will come from the internet. The same place that floods our social media feed with fight videos, girls throwing shovels at each other, and an endless stream of memes that are created because people no longer have the ability to express how they feel with a correct sentence. This is also the same internet that tries to enforce the idea that trends are the only way to build cars and how everyone is entitled to an opinion, no matter how unfounded or incredibly stupid it is….
What I loved about Honda Tuning and how Rodrez ran the magazine is how uncompromising it was in showcasing only the highest caliber of builds. I guess you can say now that it was uncompromising to a fault. Never did you see any of that wannabe rat rod, sticker-bombed bullshit that floods the internet these days. “Stance” was never a word in Honda Tuning’s vocabulary and Rodrez made every attempt to only showcase the builds that would withstand the test of time. While other magazines had to conform to the current status quo to meet sales figures, Honda Tuning stood proud in its efforts to be above any passing fad….
So what’s next? Well, it’s really hard to say. Both HT and Import Tuner were absorbed into the Super Street brand, which is now my main source of income. SS will become a bigger book with a larger variety of content because of all this and I hope you guys continue to support print. Super Street is all we have left now. Things are changing at a rapid rate but without your support, it might only be a matter of time when we have to say good bye to print as a whole. We all try to reinforce the idea that we need to “support print”, but it is all just words unless we actually go out and make a conscious effort to put action into that idea. Without it, there might not even by a Stickydiljoe.com anymore because working in this industry has allowed me the freedom to maintain this site without asking for much in return from anyone.
I’ll surely miss the paycheck and the workflow I got from Honda Tuning but what I will miss most about the magazine is what it stood for; QUALITY. That’s photo quality, story quality, and the quality of men that participated in making it one of the greatest publications that we as Honda enthusiasts will ever hold in our hands…
As someone who was an avid reader of HT, who still went and purchased copies of it even though I was working for the magazine itself, I’d like to thank Rodrez and all who made the magazine what it was…
As someone who did work for Honda Tuning for seven years, through the ups and down, I’d like to thank everyone who supported the magazine and appreciated the work we put into it monthly. It was an incredible experience and a large part of my life that I will not soon forget. Thank you to all who I met and the relationships that have formed because of our efforts in HT…
Hindsight being 20/20, Honda Tuning deserved a better end than this. There was no goodbye, no swan song, it was just “business as usual”….
We should have done a better job in supporting HT, as well as Import Tuner, when it was around…
We, as enthusiasts, failed.
-Joey Lee, contributor for Honda Tuning (2007-2014)
I would love to talk business with you.
No wonder I haven’t been seeing it on the newsstands since mid last last year. I was one of those that worked next to a newsstand and never needed to subscribe.
Such a loss. I was one of the collectors of the magazine.
I’m gonna miss the shit out of this magazine. Knowing that my huge stack of HT’s sitting by my bedside will not grow anymore is beyond depressing.
You are 1000% correct when you say that cars have become less personified over the last few years. The competitive mindset of building the coolest car has always been present, however it has also become less genuine, and in turn, cars appear to be built without much thought. With magazine articles/features, we are given the reason, the story, and the thought process. I think it is safe to say that we car enthusiasts do what we do because we don’t see cars as just metal, plastic and fluids. Perhaps the loss of these important players will begin to refocus everyone’s attention to what really matters. I’m grateful that you spoke out on this topic; we all have to face reality at one point or another.
Thanks,
Jason
great read indeed . good luck with ss and whatever else happen(s)
The amount of work that Rodrez and others put in HondaTuning showed in every issue. It really was a great magazine that will be missed by many people. I agree with many points you wrote in this post. I am glad that SuperStreet is still here and I will encourage everyone to support it.
Maybe you should take a look at what Japan has to offer for print magazines. I could easily see you doing stories for option magazine. And this is coming from someone who has a whole different outlook on Hondas and the Honda community because of your website.
Reblogged this on ShockerJoe and commented:
TRUTH!
Very disappointing. This just ruined my day. I have been reading HT so long i can’t remember when i started. The only magazine left that I am subscribed to now is GRM (GrassRootsMotorsports).
The loss of Honda Tuning, Import Tuner and several years ago, Sport Compact Car hurt. Much like you, I grew up with magazines, read them over and over (still do actually) and saved them. I subscribed to all three and Super Street and my mailbox is going to be empty in the years to come and that saddens me greatly. I still remember the first Honda/Acura builds that I was blown away by, Lee Randle’s DC2 Integra and Jay Smith’s EG. Today these cars still hold their own and being able to hold the April 2002 issue of SS is pretty rad. You get to see the surroundings these cars existed in and what made them so special. There is still hope, support SS and keep print alive.
Joey,
it wasn’t until reading this post that I realized how truthfully grateful I was for the publications that are no longer available and the service that you do to our community. In some ways, you are the last remaining hope for us as Honda Enthusiasts as you are the first person people think of when thinking of Honda coverage in any medium. Before reading this, I was fairly ignorant to the idea of print going away. I must have never taken the time to realize the repercussions that we as Honda enthusiasts would feel in this matter, but you have enlightened me and made me realize that I must do my part in supporting the scene I live by and the scene I will probably die by. I appreciate all that you do for us as a community, and whatever it takes to continue to support you or those who are making their efforts to keep print alive, I vow to do my part.
As stated, you and The Chronicles are now the beacon of hope for anything Honda related. I hope that one day Honda Tuning or another Honda based magazine will pop up, but until then, The Chronicles is really all we have. Whatever we as enthusiasts can do to support you and The Chronicles must be done so that we can at the very least have some form of stories to hear and the ability to gain knowledge that is relevant to our scene, even if it will never be comparable to a magazine feature. Whatever I or anyone can do to keep sites like this alive must be done, and I would hope you still have the faith in us as a community to try to do our part to keep this site operational if it ever falls on hard times.
Thank you for all that you do for us Joey. I took this site for granted for too long, but I have finally awoken to realize site hosts a wealth of information that needs to be stored for future generations to learn form. I appreciate your efforts, and you and The Chronicles have my love and support for as long as I am in this scene.
It sucks i was always excited when I opened my mailbox and saw the new HT isue in there. knowing that it will never happen again is sad I have been reading HT magazines for years now and always wanted to be featured in the race issue some day in the future but that’s never going to happen 🙁 thanks honda tuning u have been amazing
Joey, I want to personally say thanks for all you do for our community. I tried to contact Matt as well, but he has his Facebook shut off right now.
If someone were able to revive the brand in print the way the guys at S3 have done, I’d like to make it known that I would definitely subscribe. (Or if you printed the Chronicles)
I’ve been paid up two years in advance for the past 5 years or so and never saw this happening. I guess we take certain things for granted, though. My wife gets so mad about my boxes upon boxes of old Honda Tuning issues, but I’ll just never let them go. Digital media will never be enough to fill the void that Honda Tuning being taken away will leave.
So again, I say thanks to you, Joey, and everyone else that worked so hard to make the fantastic publication that was Honda Tuning.
The last few years of Honda Tuning have been the best years of the magazine. The quality of the writing, pictures and overall look were amazing. I’ve had subscriptions to almost every import magazine over the past decade or so at some point and Honda Tuning was the best. It gave me what I wanted, ALL HONDAS! You could tell that the people creating the stories and event coverage loved it. It wasn’t a general car enthusiast writer talking about a tuned Honda, it was a Honda person talking about it. There is a difference.
That being said, it’s now us against the world and we need to support those magazines still around. Support those that support us.
I saw Big Mike’s post of Facebook and immediately got depressed. My love and appreciation for all things Honda came from reading through the personal stories of sometimes owners overcoming a lot of odds to make their build not only stand out but stand the test of time. I live in Trinidad and Tobago and HT at home here cost 60 dollars. I have spent a small fortune on HT and I will definitely be doing all in my power to preserve not only the stories and features but the hard work which the entire staff would have put into that labor of love which was HT. Wish I was a multimillionaire…………I would have bought the ideal which is HT and reopened the doors because we as Honda enthusiast need as you pointed to, a reason to dream.
Wow I just died a bit I can say we did fail because we are not supporting the one who is doing there best to support the scene. Super Street will have my 100% support we cant let it end like this.
I had a subscription for 10 years for HT and also SCC then switched to Modified. Now i wonder what will happen to my subscriptions. I subscribed to all of them and now there is only one..
To be honest with you, your 100% correct about print. And it’s sad to see that I will never makes dream come true with my Honda. Especially now after building it for 13 years and changing with the times and just being apart of the ever evolving and changing scene.
I will never have that chance.
I think that you summed up the emotions as what it means to be a reader and a worker for the company well. In which I thought I would share my first time reading these magazines in a short way. I was in tenth grade and LAUSD had implemented a new reading program were we had to read 12 minutes a day in our home rooms. Granted with was back in 2000, but I found that car magazines we’re golden ticket to being able to read for this period of time. The now dead Sports Compact Car was my favorite, followed by the masses of Turbo, Honda Tuneing, and Import Tuner.
Thank you for the stories, I have always been a fan of your reading just sad now that I have to always be staring a screen to read it instead of physically holding it in my hands.
Lastly do you remember all the hot import chicks they used to have on Import Tuner, oh adolescence was so amazing looking at those photos. Lol
Well damn, maybe we will see individual car features on the chronicles? I hope so!! I like the honest writing you do. I also love the family aspect u bring to the community, always snappin pics of people and thier kids chillin. I have kids and more coming and i feel involved with what u do because i can relate to chillin with family and friends with families. Not like the juvinile stance sites that refer “builds” as “triumphs” and “struggles” when theyre 19yr olds that have nothing to pay for except car parts. Fuck man, i already miss the rawness of HT. Keep up ur good work, i always look for ur articles in print.
The joy of walking every month to the mail box and getting y new issue is surely going to missed. It was not just a “Magazine” as a lot of people see it.
It was a my main source of inspiration I had to keep on pushing forward to maybe just maybe one day be featured. Thank you Joey and Matt for everything you guys have done for the community. If the chronicles ever becomes a print I’m definitely going to support it.
“HT died because of a simple business restructuring”. Then you elaborate on how it’s us as enthusiasts who failed. Somewhat contradictory but none the less a sad turn of events.
If we hadn’t failed as enthusiasts the business call would never have happened.
You said earlier that HT always did well and had higher than expected advertising numbers, though. That sounds to me like we as enthusiasts were doing a decent job of keeping it going. Plus, from what I’ve seen in my years as a member of this community, Honda people by and large seemed to support HT. Myself, all my friends and most others I talked to were subscribers, and our cars always had parts on them made by your advertisers. I don’t think you can pin the blame entirely on enthusiasts.
What the fuck?!?!?!?
HA was the ONLY magazine I subscribed to :’(
This is beyond depressing…
HT*
“Never did you see any of that wannabe rat rod, sticker-bombed bullshit that floods the internet these days. “Stance” was never a word in Honda Tuning’s vocabulary” – Man, that’s some grade A asshole ellitest shit right there. It’s popular, it’s not USDM or JDM style so it’s bullshit. Good to know.
HT always preferred to feature cars that had timeless appeal. 10 years from now, a JDM front ITR on Volks will still look good, but a ’94 Coupe with a roof rack and pink Diamond Racing wheels will be out of date and laughed at. Kind of like late 90’s rice is today. There’s plenty of places on the internet that cater to trends and fads, it was nice to have one magazine that rose above all that.
Very well said!
Turbo, SSC, now Honda tuning and import tuner. I have one primedia magazine left and I am going to be giving my money to them from super street only. Remember there are smaller circulation magazines too like pas mag and s3
Ah maaan!! Thanks Joey and everyone at HT,I tried to support by buying every issue since before your days on HT. GoodnLuck with SS and hopefully this opens up a door to a new publication.
I grew up on on Turbo and Import Tuner but it wasn’t until HT appeared that I immediately came to enjoy print. You’re right, collectively we did fail as a community. The things I took for granted are gone, and no longer will I be able to enjoy such articles as “Road Rage” “Exhaust Notes” and the great Feature articles and works of art that had the privilege to be on this magazine. I will truly miss HT. I guess in retrospect collectively we can all learn from this as a community, especially the younger ones who might not understand the true impact and influence print has in our community. All in all I hope that this is not the end of the “golden-age” as you stated.
Wow. This is really depressing news. Getting these magazines in the mail is something I look forward to every month; there is nothing better than seeing amazing builds in magazines and reading the great stories behind them. I guess now we will all have to cherish our memories of HT and IT and continue to look forward to SS as our only outlet. What is this world coming to? Well, thanks for delivering this news and sorry to hear about HT.
I spent a lot of time thinking about this when I heard the news, and what it will mean to the import culture. First off let me say that I am not a magazine buyer, and have not been for a long time. Had there been something that catered closer to my interests maybe that would have been different. I’ve never been a Honda guy, I moved away from tuner dreams as a youngster, to (I guess you’d call it) the truck scene, to dub in it’s early days, and eventually to VIP (pre-“stancewagon”) when I finally found the perfect mixture of what I had been envisioning.
Maybe it was “just business” but, IMO and based on my limited recent exposure, print was antiquated. Not only as a media, but also in the approach. The import scene is constantly evolving, while magazines stuck to a constant, stagnant approach. I say this with all due respect, as I know it is something you and many others were passionate about. By no means am I saying that anyone, anywhere, doing anything should just blindly jump from trend to trend. What I am saying is that when you’re part of something bigger you have to stay dynamic to stay relevant.
The media isn’t what’s important, It’s the people. It’s the builds. It’s the stories. It’s the story tellers. Sometimes it takes a loss to gain, I really hope that out of this comes someone, or someones, that take the high standards of print and apply is to digital media. There’s a huge void that needs to be filled. IMO it could be every bit as special as print ever was, just no one has stepped up to the plate and hit it out of the park.
Couldn’t have been said any better Joey! My heart was broken when I heard the news about HT. For the past few days i’ve tried to make sense of it all and i’m still lost for words. I’ve always been a supporter of print and a bigger support of Honda Tuning! The articles written by yourself, Big Mike and Matt “Rodrez” were always some of my favorties! Let’s do our best to keep Super Street alive and let’s all continue to support “Print”. Matt & Joey thank you for all of the hardwork you’ve done to make Honda Tuning the best magazine that it was! RIP Honda Tuning (Gone but never forgotten)
This is an unfortunate circumstance, but it’s something that everyone should have seen coming for a number of years. Print is going away – it’s just that simple. Subscription numbers for these tuner mags have been steadily declining for years. I use to advertise with Source Interlink and the cost to advertise kept rising as the circulation numbers kept on a downward spiral. Eventually the company I worked for just couldn’t justify the cost with the return that the mags were offering. After I got out of the auto industry I worked for the worlds largest publisher in the healthcare industry. They had been printing the same publications since the 1800’s and guess what? They just went entirely online this year. I know that some of these tuner mags have been trying to push subscribers to visit their online content, but it just never picked up like they were hoping. The books kept getting thinner and thinner as time went on, and now here we are.
It’s inevitable that print would go away when we have sites like Stickydiljoe.com. Why go and buy a magazine when we can look at the content online for free? It’s not just these blog type sites either that is hindering printed publications. Why buy a magazine when I can read about the entire build, see hundreds more pictures, and talk to the builder directly on the enthusiast forums? Print is going away across all industries because of reasons similar to this. It’s the way of the future. People want more up to date information faster and cheaper than ever before, and they are finding it online.
Joey, I’ve been where you are right now. If I had any advise it would be to start looking into the future as best you can. You are on a sinking ship staying with SS. I would be shocked if SS was still in print 5 years from now. Even if it was I am willing to bet that it will be a thin, low quality publication with poor circ. numbers. Start charging a small subscription fee for stickydiljoe.com, and trust that your readers will be willing to pay for it (especially now since they can’t subscribe to HT, IT, etc.). Your stuff is great, Joey. If you can do something better than most don’t do it for free – no matter how much you love this community.
Best of luck to you!
Another huge issue is the fact that print might be dead but it still pays content creators. Very few blogs, at least in the automotive world, pay their contributors. Even the guys that put out content for the web do it for print because it pays. To rub salt in the wound there are so many instagrams, facebooks, and websites that “borrow/share” content and then sell another product.
I was listening to an early Podcast with Bill Burr on the joe rogan experience and he says about stitcher, “if they use my content and sell an ad after it – f*ck them. That is stealing my content and taking money away from me — especially with out asking.” And I realized then that is happening so much right now with all these people running ‘blogs’, ‘sites’, ‘companies’- and they’re doing it to photographers constantly.
“Start charging a small subscription fee for stickydiljoe.com, and trust that your readers will be willing to pay for it…” you’re kidding right? People will pay a subscription.. Just like how that works with porn- oops that industry is in the shitter too.
The online world is ran by amateurs and enthusiasts. If someone took a professional business model and applied it I think the results would be good for everybody. Hire professional photographers/writers, sell ad space/digital subscriptions/merchandise/feature prints/etc. Raise the bar.
Well, Joey what you said is absolutely correct….The idea of “business as usual…” still hurts because of the blindness of not being able to see national events, car shows, cruise nights, drag races, with record setting attendance, ALL dedicated to the Honda brand, much less all the internet and media hype, Only to close this magazine with just a “business as usual…” !?! My son bought his first CRX at 13, still has it. He’s 26 and still as hard core about Hondas as the first day. Because of magazines like HT. I support PRINT. Thanks for trying to do all the great things you have done for HT over the years. Hopefully their eyes will be open again soon.
Thank you everyone that made HT what it was! Was a pleasure reading it.
A sad day indeed. I soo agree with you man I love having print. I’m 27 so seeing all the Internet Stuff change how people get information now. Seeing all the other magazines come and gone sucks. I’m a subscriber to super street for the last 10 years. It’s always good to look back at the old stuff. Love the website and best of luck to you man!!
Great read as always, keep ya head up god always has a plan, maybe it’s time you do something independent
a lot of good points here. but it isn’t just the enthusiasts. well, i guess in a way, it is. why buy the magazines for coverage when i can visit this very blog for the exact same coverage for free? magazines were going to die. it was inevitable. there was nothing new coming with magazines. all the same ol’ styles of cars were being featured. if you really think about it, were there really enough homies in the scene to feature to keep print alive? lol
Former editor of HT checking in here. Am just hearing this news now. I’ve been gone from HT for eight years (washed out in one of those periodic “restructurings”) and those three years that I spent on the mag seem like a lifetime ago. But man, I was always, always, stoked to see HT in the 7-11 or Barnes & Noble. It was no small point of pride that I could point to the mag and tell my wife (who herself shot some photos for the mag) for the 100th time that I, and my pal Bob Hernandez, and an integral cast of contributors — art directors like Josh Gould, Chris Cruz and Jong Cadelina; writers like Aaron B, Mike Kojima, and Rich Chang, and lightning rods like Greg Leone and Dru Barrios — had a hand in building something that Aaron Bonk and Rodrez took to new levels of radness.
Both Bob and I shared an affinity for the BMX and skate mags that we grew up on and tried to bring that community sense to HT. Sometimes we won, sometimes we fell short, but Joey, I can absolutely appreciate the work that you guys put into the magazine. I look back fondly on late nights over a light table in our janky office in Placentia, selecting photos for a feature that was due 12 hours prior. Ultimately, I’m stoked to see how much the magazine meant to people, how well it represented a period of great cars that Honda built, and how it persevered amid the tunnel vision of its publishing company.
I’m sad to see it go, but magazines generally have short shelf lives, even shorter when run by large corporations with large revenue expectations. You learn this quickly in automotive publishing. HT had a good run, and the sweat equity that you guys put into it at the end will pay off as other doors open.
Thanks for the response Dan, I appreciate you taking the time to provide your insight, being that you were there when HT really started to make a big impact in the Honda community. Without you guys we would not even have made it this far. It’s a shame that this is now the end for HT but it was definitely a fun ride while it lasted.
Just have to change with the times.. Why not an app?
As I’ve stated before you should look into doing a video game w/ an online racing mode. “Kanjo Racer” or even “Honda Tuning” game. Cutting up traffic on the loop. PS4 XBOX
I’m sure if you make a web-link for donations people will support you, you’re doing great work!!
Thanks for your efforts..
That would be dope. I like that
I will always read HT. Still have some older SS, IT and Modified mag’s that I will always read. I really did enjoy your articles and the photo’s you took for the multiple publications that you freelanced for Joey! Will always support The Chronicles too. All the best with everything! From a Canadian enthusiast!!!
I just want to say thanks to you, Joey, as well as Rodrez, Aaron, and the rest of the contributors for an amazing magazine. I bought every issue off the newsstands for a few years until finally subscribing a few months ago. I’ve held on to each one, and even sourced a few back issues. I, too, was one who had hoped to get the honor of a feature one day and this really is depressing in a way. I only ever got Super Street for select “interesting” issues every now and then because of the cars I can relate to; guess I’m getting a subscription there now.
Though, I can see where jon is coming from, talking about ‘the same old stuff’ being featured. “Timeless” does tend to be a style in itself in a way. But I’ll still miss it.
^ I’ll support dWARR1ORZ’s donation idea, if you need any help at all. I love this place; your writing, your photography, and especially your insight into the community. It’s all very inspirational for my project and keeping my enthusiasm for Hondas going. I prefer the physical print as well (I still refuse to get on the Facebook/Twitter/etc bandwagons, that kind of thing is just not my style), but if this is what it takes, I’d love to support.
Thank you!!!!! I’ve got a whole book shelf of print, including about 4-5 years of HT, and other canceled magazines. It’s sad that this is a reality, I’d light up when I’d come home and the newest issue of HT would be sitting with the mail. I’ll always support print even though my all time favorite print is now gone. Signing up for SS right after I submit this. Can’t say thank you enough
Have to thank you and the Honda tuning team for everything you guys have done for the TRUE CAR ENTHUSIASTS. Nothing short of extraordinary, knowledgeable, exciting articles that were in EVERY issue I’ve received to my mailbox. Sometimes it takes a falling out to make an even greater comeback guys. Honda Tuning may be asleep, but not gone..not forever. I truly believe that. To lighten the mood- —> bRo look what happened to Fucking Twinkies iconic,disgusting but delicious gas station snack. They took em off the Fucking shelves and said to everyone” sorry bros no more Fucking Twinkies. Ever. Done, gone, bye. Fucking Twinkies were awesome. Where are they now? BACK ON THE FUCKING SHELVES DOOD. Strong comeback. Shit WILL be back and I’m sure anyone who supported the movement of Honda Tuning would be damn glad to donate to take publishing into your guys hands and continue the legacy. Get a team together and make it happen and you’ll get my donation. Stay humble. I’m out!
as a long time Honda tuning subscriber I am really upset about this. Honda tuning was on a level of it’s own. In my opinion it was much better than super street and was my favorite car magazine without any doubt. It’s really unfortunate this has happened…
Fml guess I’m not getting the rest of my suscription this year … 🙁
Originality has become a thing of the past in all aspects of life. Movies cant be made without ideas of some kind hein ripped off from something else. Life in this day and age has become a rip off of someone else. Bein an individual is nonexistant…just a saying “I’m an individual.” is a load of garbage. Society doesnt allow that anymore. Life as a whole is completely taken for granted by most people. Im sorry that HT is gone. And your right about print and the importance of it.
HT was the only magazine I sub’d to as well. The problem isn’t us as readers, it’s us as buyers. I also blame Honda for some of this as well. If they would just keep making fun to drive cars instead “meh to meh” cars, it would bring in more new buyers, more new buyers of after market parts, more advertisers into magazines that feature cars with the aftermarket parts.
HT was a clean magazine. No car whores blocking my view of sweet wheels or stance, great writing and excellent pictures.
I’m truly going to miss them. 🙁
Steve I agree with you. The skanks that are all over SS is the sole reason why I don’t have a subscription. HT was clean and a good read.
Really didn’t believe HT or IT were dead when I saw it on fb the other day. This shit made me emotional as hell reading it. I’m seriously gonna miss HT. Greatest magazine I ever read. The way they just killed off two good magazines is complete bs in my eyes. I’m hoping for the best of everyone at IT & HT. Hopefully Dsport and Super Street can hang on. As with Pasmag. Only three import magazines remain now. I’m gonna miss the shit out of you guys at HT and the issues.
We didn’t fail Honda Tuning. It was a profitable title in Source Interlink’s group of magazines. It was cut because of a business decision to fold the niche titles and redundant titles into the magazines with broader scope.
I had a bad feeling when I started seeing an advertising card inside of the last issue saying 1.50 (or something like that price) for each issue for a subscription. I don’t know why but it ran across my mind and I told myself “I hope they don’t stop making em”, because they already are taken off racks at local auto part stores within the last month , and we were ONLY able to find ‘em at one local grocery store. What a bummer..The magazine that motivated with friendly competition and like Joey said never once mentioned anything about trendy fads because fads don’t last. I can’t believe it. I will support Super Street now but it’s not the same. I did just pick up an issue of Super Street a day ago and wondered why so many Hondas were inside. Nice start I have to say. Goodluck
-Brandon
Someone just start up another Honda magazine duhhh
Best Honda Mag ever!!! I was hooked from my first issue! I’d be so hyped when I got a new issue in the mail and would read them cover to cover. (Some times too fast, so I’d read all my old issues again and again until the next month’s came). Thank you Rodrez, Aaron Bonk, Joey Lee, Micah Wright and all of the HT crew and contributors. You guys ran a great magazine and if there’s anyway to resurrect it, I’m down!! God Bless.
I guess I missed the boat somewhere. I was wondering why I was getting Super Street in the mail. A customer actually told me today that Honda Tuning was no more. Ashamed it was a great mag and will be missed dearly. Thankfully I have kept all the CRX features (my Favorite Honda) and will be able to turn back the pages of time. Thanks to all the guy that kept it going all these years. Personally Super Street will hit my trash can every month. It just cant compare.
Out of all the magazines on the shelf, this mag was the one I would read from front to back and the only one I would renew a subscription with… My very first HT mag was from July 2006, Rex Rescue.
this mag helped me modify my car with step by step guidelines, beginning with my first oil change, safely lifting a car, installing an intake, installing my short throw shifter… HT had so much knowledge on each and every page and it was a joy to read. I want to thank everyone at HT for making this magazine available to all of us. I can honestly say I would still be into euro lights and crazy a** body kits if it weren’t for HT. Thank you guys for setting me straight…
Im going miss the excitement I use to get when my wife would tell me, “your HT came in today”… it was always a good day when an HT mag would come in the mail.
Thank you for putting the news out on HT.
I knew I was never going to get on the cover of HT but I always wanted to be in the grassroots section…
Im still missing HT and modified 🙁 i had HT subscribed until late 2016, now im getting a crappy replacement.
HT and Modified were the only magazines I actually would’ve like my S2000 to be in… guess that’s not happening anymore.
Man this is sad. I was actually planning to get my 99 Si featured in HT. It doesn’t matter if I do get it or not, just reading all other people’s builds inspired me to build mine.For all it’s worth, thank you for all the time and effort you guys put on your magazine! HT will be truly miss!
A true tragedy, thank you to the writers,editors and photographers of HT your hard work and dedication to every issue inspired me in a way that no other has. I have been eagerly awaiting for the next issue to see the progress of the da Integra project only to find out this morning that HT is gone. I feel that this cannot be the end and I would support a “new” HT if it were made available, it is sad that we have lost the only pure Honda performance/ tech magazine left. Thanks again everybody at HT your efforts and dedication will not be forgotten.
It is very sad that I won’t be able to collect the HT magazines any more, I guess I just have to get a hold of all the shoe boxes filled with HT features……
Those were some good times, let’s keep our support for the car scene.
Odak20…🔰