It started with Hot Rod when I was in elementary school. In a previous post, I told the story of how a friend’s father’s Road & Track collection nudged me toward European cars and Formula 1 coverage in middle school. By college, my magazine habit really took off. Each month I’d head to the local auto parts store to pick up the latest Road & Track and Car and Driver, and then Automobile when it launched in 1986.
Once I was stationed in Germany, I could find the major publications at a Stars and Stripes bookstore. But magazines like AutoWeek had to come by mail—sometimes weeks or even months late, often out of order. And I was just getting started. I learned enough German automotive vocabulary to wrestle my way through Auto Motor und Sport, and after spending time with a British cavalry regiment (go Queen’s Own Hussars!), I discovered the amazing universe of UK car magazines. Just in time, too.
Looking back, the 1990s and early 2000s were the high-water mark for car magazines, at home and abroad. Car, What Car?, and Evo were the gold standard. In the pre-internet world, magazines were how enthusiasts learned about new models, pored over spy photos, and obsessed over the all-important instrumented road tests. They delivered great photography, unique information, and—most of all—great writing.
It was always the writing. What made these magazines great wasn’t just the cars—it was the writing, and the personalities behind it: a golden generation of automotive journalists. Because that’s what they were: journalists. They took the craft seriously, knew their stuff, and many of them drove competitively. And they weren’t just shills for the automakers. They had real journalistic ethics. Reading them was informative, entertaining, and—most of the time—trustworthy.
The roster of those bylines is familiar to any enthusiast from the era. Some of them are legendary: Csaba Csere, David E. Davis (who I once met and drank with in an airport bar!), Brock Yates, PJ O'Rourke, Patrick Bedard, Aaron Robinson, the great and sadly late, great PJ O'Rourke and Jean Jennings/Lindamood, and my personal favorite, Peter Egan.
My growing Porsche focus brought a whole new generation of magazines to my mailbox. From Porsche Club of America's excellent member publication, Excellence, to UK offerings like 911 and Porsche World, the pile of magazines in the house just kept growing.
And then the internet killed magazines. They tried to hang on, but the diversion of eyeballs—and the collapse of advertising revenue—left many of them shells of their former selves. Road & Track essentially died. Car and Driver soldiers on, sort of. The rest seemed gone… or are they?
Good internet sites came and went. But the passion and skill of automotive journalists never really dimmed; they just had to find a new home. Chris Harris of YouTube and Top Gear fame, and (Raleigh, North Carolina's own) Dan Neil at the Wall Street Journal, are perfect examples of the new model. Neither operates within a traditional car-magazine format anymore, though that’s where both got their start. More exciting, over the past few years, Hagerty revamped its Driver’s Club publication—and, lo and behold, it features some old friends, including Larry Webster, Aaron Robinson, and Don Sherman! And I would be remiss not to give Car and Driver credit for publishing old articles and reviews on their website. Gotta love a 1990s luxury sedan comparo!
Speaking of Chris Harris, listening to his fabulous podcast recently I learned of a new UK car magazine, The Road Rat. It's pricey, but quite worth it. Bought one issue and I'll probably subscribe. I can't help myself.
So despite the end of a golden age of automotive magazines and journalism, if you look you can still find, and read, great writers sharing their knowledge, adventures, and insights. Which reminds me, I gotta check the mail!
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