Drive! Online

By the time you read this, my first issue of Drive will have been on the stands for a month. While we, of course, hope that you liked it, know that we are still in the tuning process, call it the 'carburetion day' stage of transforming Drive Magazine into what we here at the Beckett Automotive Group see it as it can be.

Drive used to be the place one went to find information on upcoming shows, and it is one area that we feel needed the most attention. During the production of the first issue, we began ramping up the process of finding show listings and were able to publish 3-pages. In this issue we have 6-pages and are striving to find more. We are currently posting shows that are 3-months out, but may expand to 6-months, which will give you, show goers, the needed information to be able to place hotel reservations and make other such decisions necessary for a successful trip.

But we are also working to improve other areas of Drive that doesn't have anything to do with the printed page. In this age of computers and on-line websites, information can be had in seconds that used to require time and effort to secure by reading newspapers or magazines. That is why we are in the process of revamping the Driveonline web site so that those interested in viewing items such as show listings can do so at a moments notice. When asked what the editorial staff would like to see on the site, we said that whatever was decided, the site should be as easy to navigate as possible. We wanted the browsers to be able to find what they were looking for without having to hunt for it. We spend a lot of time on-line, and of the many sites that we visit are visually impressive, but seem to lose site of what they are intended for, which is to provide information. They call this the information age, don't they? So why do we have to struggle just to obtain the info that we are looking for? One of the problems that we see is that some sites are so busy trying to wow you with graphics, sound and other things that they seem to forget that we just wanted to know about a part, how to order the thing or how to get in touch with the shop in question.

That said, our site would try to inform you, such as with a comprehensive listing of upcoming shows, as well as giving you the opportunity to contact not only us but other visitors as well. We envision a site where Drive enthusiasts can not only communicate with one another via a Facebook style page and "blog" about their projects, but will also be able to upload still pictures and even video of their cars and events. This will enable readers to not only keep us informed about upcoming shows for our listings pages, but to provide coverage on shows that we are not able to attend. It will also allow readers to easily upload pictures of their rides for our Readers' Rides section, send us letters for the Letters to the Editor section, as well as giving you the ability to complete an editorial survey on what items you would like to see in future issues of Drive Magazine.

These are only some of the things that we are working on here at Drive. We want to be able to bring to you the type of magazine that you are interested in reading, and with your help, you will be able to give us the feedback that we need to do just that.