NO MORE SAME OLD, SAME OLD.
THE PHOENIX HAS RISEN FROM
THE ASHES.
Trailblazing in the Automotive Publishing Sphere
PHOENIX
In the latest version of aBr, which started its journey in 2025, I trust that cognisance has been taken of the formative foundations of Automotive Business Review, and that the essence of the journey that I undertook in July 2008, is understood and respected by those who have been entrusted with keeping the flame alive. The ongoing Phoenix page, which I am now curating, serves as my platform to continue to espouse my passion for publishing trailblazing.
Taking advantage of this gracious concession, I give the readers an extract from the Phoenix’ s first editorial in the September 2008 issue of aBr, which was titled‘ Rising from the Ashes’:
“ Now for the future. The dream lives on. I am determined to give the market something unique, and to be totally independent in these endeavours. The vision is not dimmed, and my vehicle for the future is to be called‘ Automotive Business Review’.
For proprietary reasons, I cannot use my previous meticulously crafted by-line, so I have come up with“ Words in Action”, which describes succinctly and effectively what aBr is going to be all about. I have great ideas for the future, and I intend to add value for both the readers and the advertisers in many imaginative and innovative ways. Just watch this space.
Old norms and old diehard practices are also going to be given short shrift. Now that my shackles have been released I can concentrate fully on doing what the readers and advertisers expect – a magazine that informs, educates and entertains, and more! I pledge to do this as cost effectively as possible, and I commit to going the extra mile for those ambitious and farsighted enough to go along for the ride, with honesty, integrity, and good old fashioned hard work.
No more same old, same old – I wish to put some flesh on this statement:
• aBr shall, in its revived format, remain the fount of knowledge, news and reviews for the automotive aftermarket in the good old journalistic tradition of informing, education and entertaining. This practice has gone AWOL in our publishing segment in recent times, for a range of diverse reasons.
• The whole is greater than the sum of its parts may have been a philosophical observation from Aristotle, but it takes on a new and exciting meaning when vehicle manufacturers and the component industry join forces to take a design from concept, to drawing board, to prototype, to the final product on the showroom floor – it is this end result that interests aBr, and the vehicle’ s conformity to today’ s imperatives, comprising consumer needs, road safety, eco friendliness, and the sum of its parts. To this end, aBr has commissioned industry experts to do the testing and analysis, and to come up with a rating against these criteria. What really will be unique, is the forum we are going to create to allow the various players to respond to their findings.
• aBr’ s readers are formidable and streetwise, and do take some convincing, but when they are persuaded it will bring benefits to aBr’ s advertisers, as the readers represent a powerful buying group, with influence and impact – aBr’ s job is to provide the platform.”
Fine words, but as Ronald Reagan would say,“ Where’ s the beef?” Well, hand on heart, the beef, and it is prime, has been on show for eighteen years, and hopefully this will continue. In the next few Phoenix articles, I will give some stellar examples, starting with Klaus Langer, of the Munich Advisors Group, and his ruminations on the tipping point of the motor industry in 2008, and the inexorable march of the cultural creatives. The wait will be worth it.
NO MORE SAME OLD, SAME OLD.
THE PHOENIX HAS RISEN FROM
THE ASHES.
MAY 2026 3 WORDS IN ACTION