RAT ROD MAGAZINE HITS THE OPEN ROAD; A father and son start an artistic magazine about cool old cars made with parts from everywhere.(BUSINESS)

Byline: STEVE ALEXANDER; STAFF WRITER

For a garage start-up business, it has more horsepower than you'd expect.

During a major recession, a Minnesota father and son launch a new slick photography magazine about low-cost, unflashy hot rods you can build in your garage over the long winter.

They call it Rat Rod Magazine, and print a thousand copies to sell for $6 each at a Princeton, Minn., old car show, and over the Internet.

They market Rat Rod Magazine at a time when big-name magazines are falling like dominoes. Gourmet, Portfolio, National Geographic Adventure, Vibe, Nickelodeon, Hallmark Magazine, Men's Vogue and PC Magazine all ceased publication during the recession.

But the first issue of the bimonthly Rat Rod sells out in two days. Four more issues are published, the latest one this month. And beginning in March, Rat Rod Magazine will be sold on national newsstands for $6.99 a copy -- less than a year after it was founded.

So what went right?

The father -- Steve Thaemert Sr., 53, of Princeton -- and son -- Steve Thaemert Jr., 32, of Shakopee -- identified a market niche: the ordinary car guy. Unlike other car magazines, which are aimed at the car aficionado who might put $25,000 or more into a car's restoration, their magazine is aimed at guys who rebuild their own cars, raiding junkyards for parts or simply making new ones.

"Rat rods are put together as a patchwork, they're very mismatched things," said Thaemert Jr.

The first issue featured a Frankenstein of a car, an unpainted 1931 Ford Model A that had been chopped in half, then reassembled with a V-8 engine, a huge grille from a farm tractor and 1960s hubcap wheels. It's owned by Zach Kurth of Minneapolis, who belongs to the local "Frankensteiners" car club.

"It's a rusty, old, loud car that goes faster than it probably should," Kurth said. "I put $3,000 into it and I've driven it 13,000 miles."

The son is the magazine's creative force, a high school dropout artist who previously sold his own pictures of classic cars painted on glass. The father is the magazine's conservative business sense, a veteran of hot rod racing who financed the start-up with revenue from car shows he puts on.

"Rat rods are a national phenomenon," Thaemert Jr. said. "And we've got a superior product. We're creating a high-quality magazine of the lowest class of cars."

"Junior is optimistic about everything," Thaemert Sr. said. "I'd like to be optimistic about everything, but I've always got to be ready to be slapped in the face."

But the Thaemerts agreed on a practical business plan geared to a tough advertising market. Their glossy art magazine was designed to make money from single copy sales and have minimal advertising. The current issue includes ads from a tattoo parlor in Blaine and a meat market in Mahtowa, Minn.

It was a shrewd move, since 2010 was the first time in three years that the consumer magazine industry experienced an increase in advertising revenue, according to the New York-based Publishers Information Bureau.

In addition, the Thaemerts got lucky. A fan sent a copy of Rat Rod to a publishing firm in New Jersey, National Publisher Services, that handles promotion and circulation for small publications. National Publisher Services agreed to arrange the distribution of Rat Rod; it is still negotiating which newsstands will carry the magazine.

The arrangement allows the Thaemerts to continue running a skeleton publishing company. Steve Thaemart Jr. puts the magazine together on a computer in his home office, which doubles as his son's bedroom. His father promotes the magazine through car shows. All but one of the photographers and all the writers are freelancers, and so far nobody has been paid because all magazine revenue -- profit has been marginal -- was put back into producing future issues, Thaemart Jr. said.

Finding an audience

It's unclear how Rat Rod will fare on national newsstands. David Renard, a senior analyst at MediaIdeas, a New York research and consulting firm for publishers, says that about three-quarters of new magazine titles fold within the first two years.

But Dennis Knisley, a partner in National Publisher Services, thinks Rat Rod has a shot at success.

"There are a lot of opportunities for new titles like Rat Rod that are more driven by newsstand sales than by advertising," Knisley said.

Howard Polskin, senior vice president of the Magazine Publishers of America, agrees.

"You can launch a magazine in tough economic times if you've identified a growing market niche," Polskin said. "But you've got to pick the right area."

Rat Rod's biggest advantage may its core group of fans.

"There is demand for this type of magazine," said Tony Mitchell of Fridley, whose faded blue 1956 Chevrolet truck has appeared in Rat Rod. "People like to see things that other people built themselves."

Steve Alexander - 612-673-4553