Don't Buy Wheels Weekly

Having missed out on my weekend reading of NST's "Cars, Bikes and Trucks", I decided to buy what I thought would be a promising alternative - Wheels Weekly. At RM3.90, this weekend car magazine in newsprint sports the British Union Jack on its marque, but upon a closer inspection, I found it to be filled with broken English, such that I couldn't help but wonder, "Is this mag for real?"

For that matter, the poor editing and language style are reminiscent of those found in a college magazine produced by students who haven't quite gotten the hang of English.

For instance, on page 6, in the article, "Rapist Tries to Outrun Porsche Vigilantes with Chevrolet Aveo - Failed," (Oct 2009, Issue 3), the last sentence reads, "Some however, said the women was lucky Ryan didn't bought a 911 GT3 RS - Where it didn't came with rear seats."

OMG! Who the heck sub-edited this article? And was the editor sleeping on the job?

OK, so people make mistakes. Even the best publications let slip a few typographical errors every so often.

But come on! Such blatant grammar errors are just too much - at least for me, and that's because I edit for a living and I don't want to have to mentally edit something when I'm not working!

In any case, with such poor English, it boggles the mind as to how Wheels Weekly could be a British magazine produced locally. If it is, well, it'd better get its act together or it'll lose readers from the get-go - readers like me.

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Addendum: Hmm... apparently, I touched off a few raw nerves with this entry. I wonder if any of my FB friends are involved with this publication. Oh, well... what can I say? I suppose I could have been more tactful, but it wouldn't change the facts I pointed out.