December 11th, 2008, 5:29 pm
Velocity magazine, a bi-monthly magazine for Orange County auto aficionados, will stop printing after just seven issues because of the current economic troubles, publisher David Threshie said today.
The glossy magazine debuted in October 2007 and was flush with ads for high-cost watches, alcohol, auto accessories and collector cars.
It was one of the only magazines in the region to target and reach affluent male readers. But it arrived as the economy — and auto industry in particular — struggled with everything from gas price spikes to the housing bubble bursting to the credit crunch to the collapse of print media.
“It was on its way to being profitable but the severe economic downturn slowed its trajectory to the point where we had to make a decision: Suspend it until the economy rebounds or weather the storm,” Threshie said. “Our ramp up essentially stalled right after the mortgage and banking industries collapsed.”
The magazine’s Web site — www.velocitymag.com — will continue to appear. Threshie said he also plans to develop a national cable show that features the Orange County car culture.
“We are talking to several networks with the hope of getting a show together to air sometime after the first of the year,” Threshie said.
Threshie said he plans to revive the magazine when the economy recovers, but for now he will cut his advertising and editorial staff.
Velocity is independent of the Orange County Register, although Threshie is the son of the newspaper’s former publisher and is a former member of the board of Freedom Communications Inc., the Register’s parent company.