Blog 4: Magazine Proposal!

Name: THE USED AUTO

Concept: THE USED AUTO provides the only high-quality magazine experience for the Used-car enthusiast.  Due to high new-car prices and economic woes, the demand for used cars is at its peak and will likely stay that way for the foreseeable future.  THE USED AUTO will contain used-car reviews, brand highlights and lowlights, buyer's guides and repair/trouble-shooting sections, as well as regional classified ads.  It's fun, functional, and fills an unoccupied segment of the market, just like the ideal used car.

Features are in the Top Gear mold, pitting writers/editors for the magazine to buy used cars based on brand or other criteria and go on long road trips and complete challenges to find pros/cons about their automobiles and general hijinx.  

Readers:  Ages 18-55, mostly male.  Low-to-Middle incomes, disposable income, but necessarily enough for a brand new automobile.  Young buyers looking for advice/insight/reviews on used cars.    Feature articles will appeal to fans of other car magazines and car television shows such as Top Gear.

High-school and College students/graduates, Middle-income bachelors or parents looking for affordable/safe/fun/practical transportation for their children/family.

The enthusiast car owner who enjoys working on their own cars.  They keep good maintenance on their vehicles.  Might be looking for their first or next project car to restore.  Might occasionally go to or watch races, might even race themselves!

Competition: No direct competition!  Car & Driver, Road & Track, Automobile all highlight/review new cars, with short "long-terms" reviews (usually lasting a year or less).  Other magazines like Lowrider and Modified focus on very specific types of automobile modifications.  AutoTrader and similar trades are contain only classified/dealer advertisments.

Five Advertisers: Fram air and oil filters, Tire/Wheel companies/distributors such as Hankook, Firestone, Michelin, etc.  Motor oil brands such as Valvoline, Castrol GTX, etc.  Parts warehouses/specialists.  Auto Insurance companies.

Five Articles in an Issue: 
"Used Auto Adventure" - one in every issue, a long feature story containing challenges involving used cars meeting certain criteria such as age, price, size, brand, etc.
"What to look for..." - each issue will contain a buyer's/mechanic's guide to common issues with a certain brand's vehicles.
"Famous, Fair, Fail" - a comprehensive review of a brand's history, including mini-reviews of which models are/will be "Famous" (classics, future classics), "Fair" (mediocre design, perhaps reliable if unremarkable), or "Fail" (avoid completely).
"New or Used" - a race between two comparable models but one car is older and used, the other is new off the lot.
"Editor's columns" - Editors will write monthly columns regarding topics of their choosing.

Cover: The very top of the magazine is wrapped in checkered Black/White to evoke the racing checkered flag.  "THE USED AUTO" flag is Euro-influenced, simple, clean, easy to read and it's large, pink-red font will stand out.  The simplicity of the flag allows for easy/creative changes and possibilities for future covers.

The cover utilizes SAAB colors (Red, white, blue) an attractive, bright, dynamic photo of a used SAAB 9-3 Viggen, positioned left-to-right and positively angled up, aligning with western reading direction.  The font also follows western reading conventions.

Large red font provides good contrast and eye-grabbing.  The large "3" is attention-grabbing, and the repetition of it's use in the corners is both attractive and effective.

Underneath the main article promotion is the forward promotion of another article featuring a SAAB sports model.  The title of the article is a pun. "$7000 BMW Beater" is an effective, attention-grabbing tagline that should entice anyone even remotely knowledgeable of cars.