I used to never read magazines, even after I started making a living writing for them. Then one confusing summer I experienced the awkwardly exciting joy of my first poop.
I was 25, a late bloomer by some measures, but to me it was the most special day in the world; I asked my father over supper if my body was changed, and as a single tear slid down his face onto his penis and into the mashed potatoes, I knew someday soon my torso would shed that veiny, pink blister throbbing with hundreds of pounds of impacted fecal matter and it would silther off to grow me a brother.
Now I read magazines all the time, sometimes chomping down on fiber pills while I’m already on the throne just to guarantee I’ll have enough time to finish a particularly engaging article. (Hint! A dash of fresh lime juice makes Metamucil a refreshing spritzer!)
What I don’t have in the library are any car magazines; which one is the best? I’m looking for something definitive, broad in scope and selection, and given to both strict testing protocol and the occasional essay about car culture. Have you ever read the UK videogame magazine EDGE? I want that, but for cars.
For me, Car magazines are like pringles; but if you had to choose one to get, I like Automobile (automobilemag.com). It’s a US publication so a lot cheaper (dirt cheap) than UK imports. Writing is usuall wittier than most car mags.
For something with the style of edge, Top Gear and CAR (UK published) are a good read. Unfortunately, they don’t cover most US models.
I have subs to Car & Driver and AutoWeek – I’m considering dropping them in favor of
http://windingroad.com/
it’s free, it’s pretty and seems to cover the same bases that the others do. You have to provide an email address – then you have access to online/PDF versions of all the back issues.
I “found” this on Kevin Kelly’s Cool Tools mailing list: http://www.kk.org/cooltools/
I second the nod to Automobile Mag. it is definitely the most interesting of the US magazines. It seems that with Car & Driver and Road & Track, they just rotate stock articles, This Hot Hatch is great value, that Supercar will stop the Earth with its torque. Automobile Mag has better written articles that are less formulaic.
If you are willing to shell out the Pounds, my preference of the British mags is Evo. It’s always nice to know what European Cars are out there and how we will never be driving them.
Ultimately, you should just bring your laptop to the can and watch episodes of the BBC show Top Gear. It is by far the best piece of automotive journalism, both entertaining and informative, though British humor can be a bit strange.
Universally, the U.S. magazines are pretty terrible, with bad photography and cookie-cutter articles. John Phillips’ articles in Car and Driver are fun, but that’s about it.
The British magazines, on the other hand, are much, much better. The even feel good in the hand, with more heft and better paper. The photography looks like it was taken by actual photographers, rather than an intern with the office digicam. The writing doesn’t focus so heavily on interior volumes and the minutiae of often meaningless performance figures (although they’re certainly there). Rather, the authors are more concerned with putting you in the driver’s seat and the car in context.
Also, typically, the story ideas are so much more creative. For example: An American magazine will review the Volkswagen Toureg and later, run an article comparing the Toureg to other SUVs in its class. The British magazines will review the Toureg, compare the Toureg to its competition, and drive a Toureg to North Africa to see what a real Toureg tribesman thinks of a Toureg SUV. The car is put into the world, rather than a featureless Michigan back road.
Yes, the British magazines don’t cover as many American market automobiles, but they do include the more significant ones. Its indicative of their wider world-view. And really, how much do you care about reading about the latest Buick?
The British magazines are more expensive than the American titles. Two, sometimes three times as much. But you get so much more and at such higher quality, it’s an indulgence I allow myself.
This doesn’t really fit your profile, but a couple of years ago I used to be a avid reader of Car Craft magazine. It is dedicated to old muscle cars, but geared to those who have no money to spend on fancy mods. So you learn cool things like how to paint your car in your own garage, what parts to steal from the junkyard for your car and the most effective mods for the money. I don’t know if it is still around, but it was pretty good.
oooh thats a tough one….being based in Ireland I don’t get the US publications so i tend to go for CAR, Top Gear and EVO (all UK based)….have to say that i’m particularly fond of CAR but EVO has been getting in some quality pieces lately.
The print mags in the US have become useless really. Their relationship with the advertisers prevents them from being direct enough to matter. Look at Maximum Bob threatening to pull advertising in mags that did bad reviews of GM vehicles.
In any case, windingroad.com and thetruthaboutcars.com are the best review sites out there now. In fact, TTAC is so wonderfully direct, that they pissed off BMW to the point where the company will no longer provide them vehicles for review.
Jalopnik.com is quite good too, their recent RS4 review was hilarious and wonderfully written.
If you need print, go with CAR from the UK. The recent redesign sets it as the most visually appealing mag out there. Plus, they’ve moved most of the data sheets to their website, leaving more room in the mag for long form, well written, brilliantly though out pieces. Really head and shoulders above all of the rest.
Intersection is an interesting one as well. Not a car mad in the traditional sense, more a look at the car as cultural icon. Don’t go to it for reviews, but if you want to learn about drive-up brothels in The Netherlands, it’s really the only way to go.
I favor publications with a more literary take on automobile culture, as it were:
electricstorytime.blogspot.com/2006/08/ford-vs-chevy.html
Personally, I believe that as a car nut since just after birth and being UK based, I’m one lucky sod. Magazines on my favourite topic in the UK are pretty damn good – they have to be to secure readership in the face of television as powerful and watchable as Top Gear. Whilst I’ve flirted with numerous publications (Autocar & Motor, Top Gear, CAR, Evo, Fast Car etc.) the one that I keep coming back to (by virtue of the fact that I have a subscription to it) is Autocar (http://www.autocar.co.uk/). It’s website is pretty good, but the magazine is fantastic.
Up to the minute news. Stringent tests. Interesting feature pieces ranging from safety technology assessments, through government policy reviews to why has a Sultan built a winding drive that’s 16 miles long and what’s it like to drive on it in a Mini Cooper S? Silly, brilliant pieces about doing 200mph on autobahns in Lamborghinis. Respected journos (Steve Cropley & Chris Harris to name but two). A healthy taste for US cars (well, as much as you’ll see in the UK – they imported a Mustang and ran it for 12 months just because). And a comprehensive backcatalogue of top rank journalism down the years. They are the only magazine who I trust for a balanced review. If I can’t decide after test drives, offers etc. which car I want to buy – I turn to Autocar.
Sports Car International, for the ‘mercan mags– best photography, best sense of humor, fewest ads. Car (the british magazine) also does fantastic photography.
Of course, for real automotive infotainment, Jalopnik.com wins.
http://www.topgear.com/content/magflash/1206/
The best I subscribe to is Automotive News (www.autonews.com) it is a weekly news publication, so it doesn’t exactly fit the magazine criteria. Their information is stellar, and the even have a European edition. Other than that, I regularly read all of the online blogs, they seem to be more interesting and less cookie cutter to me:
http://www.autoblog.com
http://www.autobloggreen.com
http://www.jalopnik.com
http://www.gminsidenews.com
I don’t know about car mags, but I do know that story would have been a lot less disturbing without your father having his penis in the mashed potatoes.
I have subscribed to most of the US mags over the years: Motor Trend, Car and Driver, Road and Track, Automobile. Today I subscribe to AutoWeek. I believe it is the best of the bunch.
It’s got to be Evo. The very best car mag to accompany a leisurely retreat to the bathroom. They have the greatest tagline in the world (after Audi’s Vorsprung Durch Technik, of course): The Thrill of Driving. And Gordon Murray (the man who designed the McLaren F1) as a columnist to boot.
I’m not particularly a car guy. When I buy one I buy cheap and drive it till the wheels fall off. I don’t lust after cars and don’t care about cornering or horses. But this article made me a little bit woozy with desire.
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/?p=2545
Maybe its the writing, maybe its the car but I really enjoyed the read and will keep going back to the website.
If I knew it was gonna be this kind of party I woulda stuck my dick in the mashed potatoes! Greatest piece you’ve written on this site. Keep it up.
WTF Joel?,
Do you get extra blogging points if you use mashed potatoes, penis, impacted fecal matter, pink, throbbing, father and brother in the same paragraph?
When I was into tuning cars (a few black years of my life that were indeed illspent :)) I really loved Sports Compact Car. I still like reading it every once in a while, usually for the articles where someone has done something really stupid yet impressive to a car, all in the name of tuning (my favourite? The guy who ripped the guts out of an Audi A3 and put two V6 engines in it, for lots of horsepower and four wheel drive :)).
I think modified is the best magazine, forget about sports compact car. It’s US so it’s a good price. It’s more into sport compact and import cars. But they also have Modified Mustangs, and Modified Luxury & Exotics… which is really awesome. You get the best of both worlds… the UK cars and the American cars!
Grassroots Motorsport. Period.