Motor Trend Group and TEN Publishing (formerly The Enthusiast Network), publishers of many car and truck magazines including Motor Trend and Automobile, announced in December that 19 of its automotive newsstand titles would be transitioned to digital-only, ending the paper versions of all 19. The most prestigious of the magazines affected was Automobile, founded by David E. Davis in 1986.
Folio reports that MotorTrend Group president and GM Alex Wellen announced the move in a memo to staffers on December 6th. "We need to be where our audience is," Wellen wrote in explanation. "Tens of millions of fans visit MotorTrend’s digital properties every month, with the vast majority of our consumption on mobile, and 3 out of every 4 of our visitors favoring digital content over print."
Still up in the air in December was whether all of these magazines would continue to be published in electronic format. Well, I just received a notice that Automobile will be "combining" with Motor Trend and that my remaining subscription will be fulfilled with issues of Motor Trend. What does "combining" mean? I dunno, but probably that Automobile is being killed but that a few of its staffers will be picked up by Motor Trend. So obviously not all of the 19 magazines being downgraded will continue to be published digitally.
Indicative of the general climate is that in January, Road & Track closed its offices in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and put its digital editor in charge of the publication. Car & Driver recently laid off 13 staffers.
Kim Wolfkill, editor of Road & Track from 2016 to 2019, told MediaVillage that ad agencies have become entranced with digital/social media, influencers, and TV. "Wolfkill also pointed out," MediaVillage said, "the willingness of many young writers on digital platforms to work for very little money—with free test cars and trips to exotic locations as the payoff. [...] The writing quality may not be high, but the information is there instantly when a new model is announced."
He didn't include "photo quality," but you can check YouTube for yourself....
Only three of Motor Trend Group / TEN Publishing's 22 titles will survive in paper format: Motor Trend, Hot Rod, and Four Wheeler.
Statista reports that in 2017, 27% of 18- to 29-year-olds said they never read a print magazine.
Mike
ADDENDUM: In a blip that seems somehow related, one of the last stories I read in Automobile pointed out that EV (electric vehicle) sales surpassed sales of cars with manual transmissions for the first time in 2019, with 1.6 and 1.1% of U.S. car sales respectively.
But hey, you can still buy a Leica MP new and you can still buy a Mazda Miata convertible, approximately three-quarters of which are bought with stick shifts (the RF version has a lower but still substantial take-rate for manuals). And Road & Track still has 600,000 subscribers and Motor Trend and Car & Driver have 1.2 million each, and all three continue to be available in print versions. So there! Go, survivors.
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(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:
BW Jones: "I remember the very first issue of Automobile where they had the temerity to compare a Ferrari 308 with the Toyota MR2 on the cover! Automobile had gorgeous paper, ink, fonts, and the photography! Oh, the photography. Under David E. Davis, then Jean Lindamood Jennings, it was in my mailbox every month and I savored every issue. I got the same announcement as you, and sorta expected this when they were acquired. A sad day for me to be honest."
William Cook: "As a onetime subscriber to many magazines, I’ve now gone to the dark side—electronic mags. More specifically, Apple News + Magazines app. Not that I get a penny hyping this service, but it is particularly good. For $10 a month, there are hundreds of magazines available. I just counted 17 auto magazines alone. All the most popular photography mags are there too. Other top shelf magazines are available as well, such as Architectural Digest and Fine Woodworking. I just checked out of curiosity and I ‘subscribe’ to 57 magazines that I read monthly through this Apple app, all for the one monthly price. As much as I hate the demise of printed mags, it’s hard to knock having them all available on my iPad to read anytime and anywhere I desire."
Weekes James: "OK I am 73, so fall out of any relevant demographic, but here are the thoughts of a lifelong car freak who is tired of most of the magazines. Automobile was very good for the time Davis and then Lindamood ran it. It slowly lost its way, for me, about ten years ago. Car & Driver faded a bit during the last staff turnover. Also the snarky, snotty 'Ed.' remarks in the Letters column are tiresome, at best. Road & Track seems to have descended into only talking about cars that are on posters in teenage boys' bedrooms. Their daily online mag is all about 700HP and up supercars and sound bites of these cars peeling out. Oddly, Motor Trend has evolved into a pretty good informative magazine that tests cars that people actually buy. I still get the print editions of MT and C&D, but will let the latter go this year. Don’t get me started on television car shows."
Matt Kallio: "Turning the stats around, I find it remarkable that 73% of 18-to-29-year-olds say they read a magazine occasionally!"
paul in AZ: "Re '27% of 18- to 29-year-olds said they never read a print magazine': This quote is only partially accurate. Delete the words 'a print magazine' and you have a more complete assessment. Kids just don't read. Everything has to be in YouTube or some other video format."
bryan willman: "I'm 60 and never read physical print magazines anymore, either."
Jon Porter: "Very sad news. I enjoyed reading their JP magazine (Jeep content) each month, along with other magazines. It was so nice to read an article away from a monitor without the intrusive clutter of ads and click bait mixed in with the text."
Mike replies: It's funny in a way that you say that, because when periodicals were newer, they were the ones criticized for having intrusive ads and distractions, and "Continued on page [x]" breaks.
Benjamin Wilkes (partial comment): "Automobile's forte was in long-form, descriptive pieces that gave the reader the experience of both the vehicle and the journey, rather than just engineering details and performance numbers."
Bill Pearce (partial comment): "Another step in the decline of our society. Combining Automobile with Motor Trend? This would be like combining The New Yorker with The National Inquirer."
Jim K.: "I'll just be curmudgeonly and comment accordingly:
1. I drive what I believe is the last manual transmission Volvo (a C30, affectionately known as my Fjord Focus). 287K miles and counting.
2. I shoot Sigma cameras because I like making prints and love taking my time both shooting and 'developing the film' (Sigma Photo Pro on my 2010 iMac is quicker than a darkroom. But not by much).
3. I love drinking craft beers and whiskeys...but I've become enamored with Mike's daily 'Vin and Tonic' recipe....
4. I've taken to baking my own sourdough bread, which I do at least three times a week (both for me and for friends and family).
"What do these things have in common? None of them are digital! I suppose you could argue that the Sigmas are digital...but that'd be a stretch.
"And as a further aside, I will disclose that I write really great software for internal uses at my company. So I can do digital. I just choose not to all the time...
"Wrapping this comment up, I will say that I miss print. I'd subscribe to the paper versions of our local papers (Chicago Tribune, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel...but they don't deliver out by me."
Steve Biro: "Mike, remember when Popular Photography folded and many of us felt kind of sad about it—but admitted we hadn't found much to read in it for perhaps a decade or more? That's pretty much the case with car magazines.
"I ended my print subscriptions of Automobile, Road & Track and Car and Driver a few years ago. I picked up the last two titles again this past year because they literally begged me—offering both for $7.99.
"But the truth is, I don't find much in them to interest me these days. There's a bit of racing content in Road & Track that's nice. But I don't know that it's enough. I suspect that I won't be renewing.
"It doesn't help that cars aren't very interesting these days—certainly not for those who truly enjoy driving. It's all about technology and connectivity these days. I knew C/D was in trouble when it made an editorial switch from recommending that 'driver assistance' technology be turned off and that drivers—you know—watched were they were going, to listing such technology as pluses. I mean, you have to be able to answer your phone and look at the big eight-inch screen in your car, right?
"As for Motor Trend and the rest of the former Peterson publications, I haven't looked at them in over 25 years. Okay, once in a while I check them to see if there's anything interesting. There hasn't been.
"The cars we are being offered today—at least the ones most of us can afford—are certainly competent. But they are as joyless as the society that's buying them. And that society can't wait until it gets full autonomous driving. No wonder the enthusiast publications are going down. It's not just the advertising industry's fascination with digital—although that's part of it. It's that there are fewer and fewer auto enthusiasts with each passing year.
"It's hard to take for this ex-Formula Ford racer. But I suppose, as with photography, I should be thankful that I was able to enjoy the hobby during its golden years."
Next question: Paywall or abusive levels of advertising? Because what this really means is they weren't getting enough revenue from the magazine advertisers and they want to get that revenue from somewhere else. My guess is the paywall model with either 1 or 2 free articles a month or only the top half of the article able to be read. I guess I'll have to stick to Road & Track for my Lotus Evora fantasies :D
Posted by: William Lewis | Monday, 10 February 2020 at 06:54 PM
and so goes the last remnants of an obsession of my adolescence (ca the late 50's). Hot Rod was one, Road & Track another, but also Custom Cars, Sports Cars Illustrated, and Car & Driver. (And maybe one more, but after 60+ years ...)
I think I may have been the only kid in my high school who knew who Stirling Moss was, (he's now 90), and what the Mille Miglia was.
Posted by: MikeR | Monday, 10 February 2020 at 07:26 PM
I had a few $8/year subscriptions to Road & Track, Car & Driver, and Automobile in recent years -- freebies purchased with leftover airline flyer miles. Unlike the same titles in a earlier era, these were overpriced. The sadly deteriorated content saw me thumbing through them on the way from mailbox to the recycling bin and pitching them before reentering the house. Even the advertising content had gone downhill, increasingly centered on schlock watches and male sexual prowess enhancement food supplements.
No great loss.
Posted by: Michael Matthews | Monday, 10 February 2020 at 08:01 PM
I can't say I'm surprised. This may be heresy, but cars have become appliances. It takes an expert to tell them apart now, since the equations around reducing wind resistance, minimizing weight, and maximizing interior space have a limited number of solutions. Faster than seems possible now, the idea of driving a personally owned vehicle powered by an internal combustion engine is going to seem quaint at best, and may possibly become criminal.
Posted by: Keith | Monday, 10 February 2020 at 08:26 PM
This is extremely sad news, especially for Automobile. (I was an early subscriber, though not of late.) While Automobile seemed to lag its online competition, its forte was in long-form, descriptive pieces that gave the reader the experience of both the vehicle and the journey, rather than just engineering details and performance numbers.
I tried the online version, but found both the prose and the photography less satisfying in that format. App designers need to work harder to deliver interactive content on the iPad that’s as good as magazines could be at their best.
Posted by: Benjamin Wilkes | Monday, 10 February 2020 at 10:36 PM
Another step in the decline of our society. Combining Automobile with Motor Trend? This would be like combining the New Yorker with The National Inquirer. I always enjoyed reading the erudite writing in Automobile about cars I would likely have no contact with in the American Midwest, ant the skill of the writers was superb. Motor Trend? I would glance at it while waiting at the barbershop, so I could see what was interesting to high school kids, written for their level.
Thanks for the opportunity to vent.
Posted by: Bill Pearce | Monday, 10 February 2020 at 11:26 PM
I wonder how successful the paper-to-digital only approach will prove, as it seems many digital "magazines" -- such as T.O.P.! -- are similarly struggling for revenue these days, thanks to the rise in prominence of moving pictures (aka video) and the decline of written words.
At one time, the exchange rate was said to be 1000:1, but that is clearly no longer the case...
Posted by: JG | Tuesday, 11 February 2020 at 12:45 AM
I've just bought this, Mike:
It's a Mazda MX-6, 1995 model, lovely condition, 4WS, drives like it's on rails. Bumpy ride, but I love it. Automatic 4sp but I had no choice.
I subscribe electronically to Modern Classics magazine from the UK. I was paying about US$10 per issue, which was too expensive. As a download (Android only unfortunately) it costs about $5 per issue, and I don't worry about the acres of trees being wasted.
Like most things, they don't make 'em like they used to! Not only cars, I also look at the F/B group High End Audio for the Passionates. The sheer beauty of the 1980s and early '90s audio/hi-fi equipment is gone. You can't buy this beautiful equipment any more. It's all just bland black boxes with tiny grey lettering that I can't read. Why?
Posted by: Peter Croft | Tuesday, 11 February 2020 at 01:02 AM
No digital platform will match the excitement I used to feel at the age of 12 when, in the 1960s, 'Autocar' magazine was delivered every Friday. Later came 'Car' magazine and 'Motorsport'. The appeal of print on paper is still there for me. And yet ... I read the newspaper each day on line. We are all complicit.
But is there a parallel also to the camera business? Most cars these days are supremely efficient, and broadly similar to drive, and very similar to look at. Maybe there's not much for motoring journalists to say any more.
Posted by: Timothy Auger | Tuesday, 11 February 2020 at 02:41 AM
This article really sends me back in time. My favorite motor magazine writers of all time are Henry Manney III and Peter Egan.
When I was growing up one of my uncles passed along his well-read Road and Track magazines. I poured over Mr. Manney's articles on formula one, the Targa Florio, and living in abroad. I have an all too short collection of Manney's work published by R&T after Henry passed. I still refer to it for suggestions on where to find good food around Europe.
If I remember correctly, Mr. Egan studied under Manney. A line from an early article written by Peter stays with me and still cracks me up. He was in Japan visiting a motorcycle factory. When a knock came on the hotel door, Peter opened it to find a kindly cleaning lady holding a vacuum cleaner and asking "hoover?" Mr. Egan replied something about voting for Eisenhower.
Closer to your point and Mr. Davis and Automobile Magazine, I remember reading an article by Llewellyn. He wrote about riding along with the Pirelli sponsored England to le Mans 24 heures event. The way he described the long lunches and the (liquid) fortifications required to stave off abject terror while riding in a full-zoot honest to gawd original racing Jag D-type that blasted through the French countryside was simply brilliant.
Somewhat lastly, I find a comic series called "Ogri" by Paul Sample and that is published in Bike Magazine out of the UK to be outrageous good fun.
Lastly, and I really mean it lastly, I'm enjoying the passion and focus and history that French writers bring to automobiles and motorcycles. Fortunately there are still dozens of magazines (as in good 'ol fashioned treeware) to be thumbed through down at the local Presse stand.
So it is with sadness that I read of the further consolidation of the magazine industry in the US and for increased opportunities to have ones nose stuck to an LCD reading poorly and likely hastily written articles. Gack! I must be getting old and cranky.
Posted by: Christopher Mark Perez | Tuesday, 11 February 2020 at 05:53 AM
And then there are digital-only pure-plays like Petroliscious, which is funded from a mix of membership, merchandise, advertising and events.
Digital has the curious effects of reaching consumers (readers, viewers, whatever) at near zero cost per additional user, and of opening your writing/photography/filming team up to anyone who is motivated enough to create for you.
When I worked at Lonely Planet this was a huge internal debate: why would readers trust random people from the internet? Why would people write and photograph for free? Turns out they do (for the currency and immediacy of it) and they will (for the sheer joy, access, pride or adventure of it).
There are really only two great positions to be in: enormous super-aggregator (Facebook, Google etc), or deep niche player (individuals and small teams can really thrive by reaching people that mass production of print and broadcast media never could).
The same kind of thing looks like it's playing out as physical goods are reshaping to meed the needs of 'audiences' — the MPs and Miata's supported by dedicated fans at the niche end and the ultra-scale platform players' models VAG at the other.
Posted by: Steve C | Tuesday, 11 February 2020 at 06:13 AM
Even some of MotorTrends less prestigious offerings have moved to a monthly subscription service. Roadkill ran on YouTube from 2012 to 2018 before it was moved to MotorTrend On Demand. The Roadkill guys always reminded me a little of the Caddyshack caddies who invade the Bushwood Country Club pool once a year for Caddie Day (Caddies welcome 1:00 – 1:15). They’re a little rough around the edges but they know how to fix a beater on the side of the road and seem like good guys.
Roadkill also hosts the annual Zip-Tie Drags in Tucson. While this event will never be mistaken for the Concours d'Elegance, it’s always a lot of fun. Roaming a race track with a long zoom is a great way to spend the day and where else are you gonna see a Gremlin with dualies and a diesel engine on a drag strip? NHRA preseason test events are also a good choice. The crowds are smaller and you can stand in the pits and watch the crews tear down a top fuel engine in a sort of choreographed dance. I did this in Phoenix a few years back and got some great shots of the crews in action with my EF 100-400. If you’ve never stood at the finish line as a dragster goes by at 300+ miles per hour or stood in the pits and felt the thump of exhaust from a top fuel engine hit you in the chest before running for cover to avoid a noxious yellow cloud of Nitromethane, I highly recommend it. Don’t forget your earplugs!
Posted by: Jim Arthur | Tuesday, 11 February 2020 at 07:10 AM
But what will we read in the barber shop?
Posted by: Luke | Tuesday, 11 February 2020 at 07:22 AM
Makes me sad.
I understand the dynamic whereby print publications are dying because of the flight of ad dollars to on-line venues. But it seems like every on-line magazine is trying very hard to drive me away. Between intrusive paywalls, in-your-face ads that dive under the cursor as you click, and terrible web page design that makes it very difficult to find the content you're interested in, almost all of them, well, suck.
Life's too short to waste any of it climbing over digital barbed wire fences.
Posted by: Geoff Wittig | Tuesday, 11 February 2020 at 09:12 AM
Ok, boomer.
Posted by: Steve | Tuesday, 11 February 2020 at 09:34 AM
I was never much into car magazines, but was a voracious motorcycle magazine reader as a kid in the 70's and 80's. Back in the seventies you might remember that most magazines accepted short fiction, and my mom published a story in a motorcycle magazine, loosely based on my dad's experiences.
For me the general death of all of these magazines, from bicycles to motorcycles to cars, comes from a focus on the top tier of performance and price. I don't want to read about $7,000 bicycles, $20,000 motorcycles, and $200,000 cars. Perhaps, if we see a societal reboot in the near future, and we finally do something about our extreme income inequality, we will see a rebirth of hobby journalism for everyday people.
Posted by: John Krumm | Tuesday, 11 February 2020 at 10:12 AM
Hagerty, the classic-car insurance company, now publishes a bi-monthly car magazine that is quite well done. Only for their policy-holders, I imagine (I am one), but it seems that there's still room for print these days.
Posted by: Mark Sampson | Tuesday, 11 February 2020 at 11:01 AM
Sad. Davis and Jennings are such good writers. One of the gems they introduced me to is Denise McCluggage's By Brooks Too Broad for Leaping.
Posted by: Al C. | Tuesday, 11 February 2020 at 11:15 AM
Tom McCahill, Brock Yates, DED jr and a host of others made the best of the car mags as much about great writing as cars.
Posted by: Mike Plews | Tuesday, 11 February 2020 at 11:19 AM
As you know, Mike, David E. Davis was quite the interesting character. I’m sorry to hear of the demise of these print magazines. I was an early adopter of digital media for books and online content. While they have their advantages for me they are not the same as sitting back in an chair with a book or magazine made of paper which have attributes as objects onto themselves that I enjoy.
Here in Ann Arbor between the car magazine headquarters, the EPA automotive testing facility one mile from my home, and car company research facilities, we have grown used to seeing “secret” cars wrapped in camo patterned plastic zipping around town on test drives. It’s been fun to try to guess what they are based upon their shape. Sad to see more local jobs go away.
Posted by: Steve Rosenblum | Tuesday, 11 February 2020 at 12:26 PM
Hi,Mike,
I wrote a blog about this after reading yours last night
http://addenuff.blogspot.com/2020/02/the-descent-to-perfection.html
I no longer read printed magazines or newspapers, magazines becaue the quality of prose is awful but far worse is the underlyinh knowlegde of the writers. After dispensing with Car we had a subscription to Road and Track which, Peter Egan(?) apart left as much to be desired as did Car. Sadly those older journalists and testers could explain their subject, enlighten as to why they drew their conclusion. All the current crop do is compare this with that, this years 911 is better than last because it's faster/smoother/more expensive etc etc.
The graphics leave a great deal to be desired. Newspapers have their own agenda, It is not mine!
Indeed, it was an adverse review in an American online article that convinced me that a AMG SLK V6 was the car for us as I was informed that it lacked the apex hugging quality of the MX5, Porsche Boxter, Audi, et al but it was a fine car to transport your mum and dad safely, quietly and relatively quickly ..... Ideal!
Cheers
DP
Posted by: Dave | Tuesday, 11 February 2020 at 12:26 PM
Yes, the old comfortable ways are dying out. You could do a post introducing people to new things they might enjoy. Youtube channels like Harry’s Garage, and ad blockers like ublock origin, along with tips like adding www.youtube.com###comments to the My filters section, which stops youtube comments from being displayed. Watching youtube without comments is the only way to go.
Posted by: Bruce McL | Tuesday, 11 February 2020 at 12:51 PM
I miss Autoweek more than any of these other titles.
Posted by: Jnny | Tuesday, 11 February 2020 at 01:27 PM
I think we can safely say that the great era of magazines is gone. I was a subscriber to Gourmet for their last ten or eleven years. I still have them all. My son recently told me that he will definitely wants to keep them when I’m gone. I never subscribed to any photography magazine though. I used to buy Photo, but that’s it. Too many ads on most of them. But I still have a Photo Techniques issue with a very nice article about how to buy an used M3. I think Mike wrote it. I ended up with 3 of them.
Posted by: David Lee | Tuesday, 11 February 2020 at 01:50 PM
If you want to see a car magazine that is a work of art , I highly recommend the Rodders Journal magazine. It’s really about cars as an art form, and is highly reminiscent of surfing magazines. I wish art books were printed as well. The photographs are beautiful.
Autoweek is still worthwhile if you want to read about cars as transportation. Maybe not as great when Denise McCluggage ran it, but still pretty good.
Denise McCluggage BTW was an amazing lady https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denise_McCluggage
Posted by: hugh crawford | Tuesday, 11 February 2020 at 01:57 PM
Luke, We'll read our phones!
Posted by: wts | Tuesday, 11 February 2020 at 02:10 PM
Railfans are lucky. There is a company, White River Publications, that over the years has been buying many railfan magazines that can no longer survive on their own. WRP has been doing an excellent job with these while often retaining the original staff, as in their most recent acquisition of the regional magazine Railpace. They have very seldom "combined" independent magazines. WRP is a quality publishing house on both the editorial and production sides. They publish their magazines and books on heavy glossy paper with lots of attention to photo quality. I'm not involved with WRP other than as a subscriber to several of their magazines and an owner of a number of their books.
Posted by: wts | Tuesday, 11 February 2020 at 02:32 PM
Jim, Roadkill, Drive, and a couple of other "car shows" on YouTube were funded by YouTube.
YouTube gave a bunch of money to the people involved with basically no strings attached. The results were great but didn't make enough money to cover the production costs.
I guess no one had a good plan for what to do once the YouTube money ran out.
I really hope shutting down print production does not mean lots of people will lose their jobs.
Posted by: Nathaniel Stephan | Tuesday, 11 February 2020 at 02:50 PM
Sad to see Automobile go. It was the last of the general interest car magazines that I subscribed to, but let it run out years ago.
I think Automobile is going to still be around online (for now), with the Motor Trend offer to complete the subscription term.
Posted by: Aalok | Tuesday, 11 February 2020 at 03:46 PM
I'm sorry to see them go. I followed David E Davis from early C&D days. I'm 74 and still remember when I was in high school the audacious GTO vs. GTO comparison of a Pontiac GTO vs a Ferrari GTO that sold a lot of magazines but there actually wasn't a real GTO available for the article. That was followed a few years later by his effusive review of the then new BMW 2002 which I managed to purchase. Henry Manny and later Peter Egan offered some superb writing, not just car related writing, for Road and Track that no longer exists.The ads in the back of R&T were in retrospect quite amazing...like the Jochen Rindt driven and LeMans winning Ferrari 250LM with a spare engine and transaxle for $15,000.that appeared in the classifieds in 1966. I managed to fulfill some of my automotive fantasies at least transiently till our kids college tuition arrived for about a dozen years. I'm still fantasizing that I can figure out a way to limp off into the sunset with a Carrera T for a backup to my Subaru Outback and a M10 monochrom for a backup to my Fuji XH1.
Posted by: fred fowler | Tuesday, 11 February 2020 at 04:11 PM
I feel like Ken Miles right now.
Posted by: Maggie Osterberg | Tuesday, 11 February 2020 at 04:21 PM
Never been a big fan of the American car magazines, not after reading CAR, the British magazine with great writing and great photography. That was years ago, though, and I now only read about cars when I’m looking for one, as my dreams to have a Ferrari have been replaced by a desire to just have a Mazda MX5 again. Funnily enough, I got over my supercar dreams after I, as a journalist, got a loaner Corvette and a loaner 911 for a week each for an article I was working on.
Posted by: John | Tuesday, 11 February 2020 at 05:59 PM
"Well, I just received a notice that Automobile will be 'combining' with Motor Trend and that my remaining subscription will be fulfilled with issues of Motor Trend. What does 'combining' mean?"
Simple: it means that the company does not have to pay refunds to subscribers because it found a substitute to send to them.
Posted by: Scott | Tuesday, 11 February 2020 at 08:01 PM
Here's the real loss, IMHO:
Autoweek was the serious car nut's weekly for many years, starting in the late 1950s when Denise McCluggage was editor. It went through many owners over the years until the print version was cancelled last November and the online version redone to look like every other #$%^&*() car blog.
I wrote for a couple of car mags in the 90s and got to meet Denise (presenting her with a photo I took of her racing at Sebring in 1967), Peter Egan, David E. Davis, Leon Mandel, etc.
I was introduced to Davis at Pebble Beach by Alfa's PR guy, Richard Gadeselli. I ended up interviewing him for an article I was writing about Max Hoffman for the BMW club magazine, Roundel. We spent more than an hour, me taking notes of all of his stories about Hoffman, which is a long story in itself. Davis was a character - a bit like Tom Wolfe, I think.
Another auto magazine character was Leon Mandel, He finished his long career at Autoweek and the obit is worth reading (https://autoweek.com/article/car-news/autoweek-publisher-emeritus-leon-mandel-dies).
But perhaps the ultimate character was Henry Manney who wrote for Road & Track for many years. There is a paperback of his stories "Henry Manney At Large & Abroad" (unfortunately out of print and copies available are pricey - https://www.amazon.com/Restoration-Miscellaneous-Track-Manney-aboard/dp/1870642473/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Henry+Manney+at+Road+and+Track&qid=1581473717&sr=8-1) but the story "An Incomplete Guide to the Ile Du Levant" is indescribable - it's his report on visiting a nude beach in the Riviera.
And a final note - the second best article in a car mag ever was the March 1964 issue of car & Driver where they compared the new Pontiac GTO to a Ferrari GTO - https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a15141790/gto-vs-gto-road-test/ -
Posted by: JimH | Tuesday, 11 February 2020 at 09:25 PM
Oh Mike, what would the Car and Driver folks have said about your egregious ampersand? (jk)
Once subscribed to and poured over R&T, CD and Automobile and know what? the quality of writing, photography, reporting and technical prowess made the effort worthwhile, along with the topic. Consumer cars and auto racing were more varied and interesting then. Through the dire mid-70s to mid-80s, they offered hope for us who did not care to own the monstrously ugly and sloooow offerings from most companies. It's how one could become a fan of, say, Saabs.
I left Motor Trend off the above list because it was the WalMart of car mags. Sad that they ended with the corpse of Automobile.
Posted by: Rick_D | Tuesday, 11 February 2020 at 09:32 PM
Whatever else you do today, I suggest you read this short post about Henry Manney by Dennis Simanaitas, his editor at R&T: https://simanaitissays.com/2016/01/15/remembering-henry-n-manney-iii/
If that doesn't make you laugh and wish you led a life like his, you're probably hopeless!!!
Posted by: Jim H | Tuesday, 11 February 2020 at 09:37 PM
27% of 18- to 29-year-olds said they never read a print magazine.
OK. I wonder what percentage don't drive? Add that to "drinking alcohol" as something else falling out of favour with the next generation, at least in the UK. Things sure are changing here on Waltons Mountain.
Posted by: Ade | Wednesday, 12 February 2020 at 04:29 AM
I never buy print magazines, but I read old ones. This despite not having a license to practise dentistry. There is a stock of old "Not Only Black & White" magazines on one of my shelves and I pull a copy out now and then.
Also, I owned an MR2: the early squarish one. One of the few cars I miss, despite needing to drive with the sun-roof popped up in summer to clear my head. I don't think I ever read a flattering test of one, but years earlier I'd seen one at a motor show: the idea of sticking a front-drive Corolla motor in the back of a cheap sports car was so obviously "right" to me, that as soon as I had the possibility I bought one used.
Posted by: Graham Byrnes | Wednesday, 12 February 2020 at 07:36 AM
I mostly agree with the previous comments. It seems that the reviewers were superficial, perhaps because the makers would not loan them any additional cars if they were too critical. They emphasize the fastest, latest techie wundercars which most can't afford. Works that way with cameras too?
There is a British magazine, I think its called Classic and Sports Car, that highlights older sports cars. The only one I still find interesting.
Just an observation, Honda advertised in the 1990's that their cars now had aluminum alloy, fuel-injected engines with overhead cams - something my 1969 Alfa Romeos had, with hemispherical combustion chambers! Now, 2020, they advertise the latest lane avoidance technology, ect., etc., that my wife's 2014 BMW Sportwagen has. Its no wonder they are somewhat more reliable, they let the others make the advances in technology and then use it when the bugs have been worked out. Sounds like cameras too?
Posted by: Rick in CO | Wednesday, 12 February 2020 at 10:40 AM
I didn’t realize that Autoweek had stopped publishing on paper.
I read it at my sister’s house and haven’t been there with time to go through the magazine stack since Thanksgiving.
Posted by: hugh crawford | Wednesday, 12 February 2020 at 01:13 PM
I have to disagree with the comments pertaining to Road&Track by Weekes James. Over the years yes, they had lost their way, but about 6-7 years ago I began to notice glowing embers and sparks in the ashes.
The writing itself had gotten better, the subjects they were featuring were unusual, and overall there was a life and creativity that was refreshing.
Here are just 2 examples from memory.
https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a6344/ferrari-458-speciale-dragon/
https://roadandtrack.kinja.com/the-secret-racing-test-tunnel-no-one-wants-to-talk-abou-1678596274
Posted by: Ross Attix | Wednesday, 12 February 2020 at 06:12 PM
Holy Cow! Now what am I going to read at the barbershop for 15 minutes once every 6-8 weeks?
Posted by: Ray Maines | Thursday, 13 February 2020 at 07:18 PM
I'm afraid the 'Green Lobby' still have oil and the motor car in their gun-sights despite most CO2 being expended in electricity generation and home heating.
There are some who will not be happy until the car industry is laid to rest in the cemetery and with it will go the car magazines that rely on new cars for their content. Then it will just be the classic and vintage car magazines left for us old guys and gals and any curious youngsters who still read.
Posted by: Olybacker | Friday, 14 February 2020 at 09:41 AM
The model being used by Forbes appears to be working out well. They stopped having "magazine editors" a while back, and now have "content editors". They span across the spectrum from paper magazine to completely open web content, as well as pay-for content.
They admitted that this was the only way to survive. (They also changed their advertising model, which is of course, where magazines get their income...)
What I see is that you cannot simply say "we will quit paper and become electronic", there is too much going on for such a simple binary choice.
I help with the electronic publication of newsletters and articles for enthusiast organizations in the U.S. They are really hurting, not only as members die off, but even worse, as the cost of postage has destroyed their ability to put out a paper newsletter, and to sell paper books. I am told by the "old guy" members that "they don't want electronic, they want paper". Trouble is that we are losing the paper-readers at an alarming rate.
I believe that without electronic versions of the educational material, the hobbies themselves will be dead rather soon. Seems like an uphill battle with them.
My bottom line is: make your hobby visible through search engines, publish as much online as you can, and you will attract membership.
Posted by: Bob | Saturday, 15 February 2020 at 03:10 PM