I like alot of you have thought about or pre-written letters to the off-road magazines we all buy @ read. Has this been tried before. Those guys are so naive and biased that they base there reasoning on what is a good, capable trail machine is what they see out on the trail. If we were to flood theremag. with quality well written letters and call them out on the trail and to disect our beloved Isuzus, do you think we could get some type of possitive recognition? Read this monthes Pete. off-road. We all can`t be wearing rose colored glass`s knowing what our machines are capable of! And the whole IFS issue, they are doing a test using a very heavy rig like a GM. 2500 fullsize long-bed , extra-cab truck for there final analysis. I would buy there plain ticket to have there editors come out on the trail with us so to give them a wake up call! Is this worthy or just another failed attempt?

Uh, Rugged, you might want to look at page 114. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />

Or you could just read my post, that coincidentally, hit the Wire 60 seconds after yours!!!

its not a waste of time... one of the guys on the mitsu board wrote a couple of nasty letters and enclosed pics for one of those 4x4 advertisment rags, and got put in. that being said, we go through the same crap you guys do (if not alot more because of the very small mitsu diehards and pure lack of domestic aftermarket parts). if its not some big yoked out truck, that couldnt half the places i go, a jeep or a toyota they just dont care. they dont realize the out of the box capability of so many rigs out there and if there isnt an aftermarket nitch for them like the full size american trucks, yotas or jeeps why bother to put them in their mag errrrr... i mean rag.

The Devil is in the economics.

Advertisers and subscriptions publish a magazine.

How many of "us" are there, compared to how many of "them"?

Advertisers put ads in based on the fact that they have a target audience. How many after-market Isuzu parts houses are there that are willing to pay their electric bill ?

We might get a "novelty" piece now and then, but that's about it I'm afraid. There's just no $$$$ in it for them.

Don't sweat it. Like said above, economics. Though I do agree, some coverage would be nice.

Going from a fullsize Chevy 4x4 to an Isuzu Wizard ("what in the world is a Wizard?", most may ask), I am feeling the difference in product support and even basic knowledge. There just isn't the footprint that the other brands have.

If the US ever got off their thumbs and would consistently bring small diesels, there'd be more interest and coverage. Look at the mags and you'll see the modified 4xs with the small diesel conversion and everybody drools.

As for the IFS thing, it's always been know in the Chevy community that the Toyo IFS was stronger. Same IFS idea, the only difference was the way it was put together. I think in the hands of the average wheeler, solid axle is more capable. But I also think a skilled driver can make IFS work spectacularly.


At any rate, it's always good to have coverage. The best way to get their attention is to just keep sending out letters with pics, and even send them invitations to cover 4wheeling events put ob or your rigs. At the very least, give them a pleasant change to their usual content.

Oh hey, I was over at ORC and the Isuzu page is sorta lacking. What about if you guys doing big projects submit your writeups/pics to them. They coud really use the ifo in tech, not to mention generate a little more traffic through there. The ORC Isuzu board is completely dead. I realize you guys have a good board here. But before I got my Wizard I had no idea that 4x4wire existed, that's how much time I spent on ORC. I'm just saying, try to spread your product. You can't count on others to do it.

I put the Isuzu pages together at Off-Road.com in the mid-90s, and was one of the princpals that founded 4x4Wire in 1999... sad thing is that this has kept me away from setting up as strong an Isuzu section here as I would like. That said, there is an Isuzu section at 4x4Wire which I think is at least as good as that of ORC: http://www.4x4wire.com/isuzu/ Then again, I may be biased (my fingerprints are all over both of 'em!)

I agree that folks who want to build a fan base around niche vehicles are better served by the 'web -- I've seen threads like this at least every other year going back to the early 90's, when said discussions took place on a simple majordomo mail list.

We can vent within our niche, and even write letters to editors outside it... but the best path to appreciation IMHO is to get out there and 'wheel our rigs. Show the world what we can do... because writing about it alone ain't gonna make it. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/shiner.gif" alt="" /> Evangelizing the Isuzu faith won't hurt, certainly, but I'm not sure how much it helps, unless you are right there to back it up with your Isuzu!

Randii

How about letting Peterson's know about ZuZoo and inviting them to take a passenger seat?

randii, right after I submitted my previous post I realized that the Isuzu section did exist and I felt like Homer Simpson: Doh! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

The tech section here is more informative than the one currently up at ORC. I just wanted to put ORC out as example of another mainstream outlet. Some folks might know about that site but not 4x4wire or vice versa. At the very least, they should get good tech info. That'll help plant the seed of interest for these trucks.

I agree, getting your truck out is the best way to get some coverage <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />

Petersen's web page is:
4wheeloffroad.com

I've been registered on the forum for a few months, and have posted a few responses to guys asking questions about IFS, 4-cylinder engines, etc.

Fred Williams is one of Petersen's writers, and I really like his articles about cheap builds, etc. He's on the forums of 4wheeloffroad.com pretty frequently, and has even posted that he'd like to be invited to events, provided details to include dates/locations/sponsors (clubs), etc. Of course, he'd need some significant lead time to be able to attend, but he's certainly interested.

They *have* been invited just about every year since the beginning, when we got a nice little multi-page spread in the April 1999 Four Wheeler on the 1998 first event. Heck, that was only 15-16 rigs, before we organized, permitted, or incorporated... it was all about who you knew, and I knew a fella who 'wheeled an Isuzu and did occasional feature-work with John Stewart. Right place, right time, and right contacts... we backed into it!

In subsequent years, we tried to repeat that coverage and nada... zip... zilch. In the meantime, for a better event, we've established more structure, planned further ahead, and actively pursued other media involvement, and even permitted and insured the largest BLM-registered 4x4 event not put on by the Red Rock 4-Wheeler club. Even in smaller years like this one, there's a lot of organization and effort that goes into the event, but that's not what sells magazines, is it?

Three or four years in, one of the print mags was supposed to send a staffer out, and we had helped work a deal with Isuzu to make a vehicle available, stuffed with Isuzu-related raffle stuff. That vehicle sat in the Isuzu Cerritos parking garage all weekend while the print guy flaked. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" />

We've had Isuzu reps, Isuzu vehicles, and Isuzu corporate promotional items at Moab 'Zu Zoo... we've had more than a hundred vehicles there one year... for most years, we send letters to the print rags to get listed on their calendars and extend an invite.

Heck, we generally have a volunteer dedicated to working with the Moab Chamber of Commerce, community calendar, magazines, and websites (this year we got a late start and did not). Next year, this position will likely be open for a new volunteer, and we'll be hyping the 10th-annual event. We'll try again, but honestly, I ain't holding my breath.

We go to Moab, we have a good time, and IMHO, that's good enough. Almost ten years into it, with the history we have had with print guys, I'm damn sure it isn't the location, the participants, or the organizers holding us back. We'll try again, because it is the right thing to do, but success or failure for us is based one the event, not the credentials of the folks who attend it.

Randii