Your Favorite Automotive Journalism

[ZephyrEFI]

Where do you like to get your automotive journalism? Personally, lately I've made no secret of how i feel about the traditional automotive press. I've had it! I've had it with having them dismiss and IGNORE American cars as irrelevant. I'm SO sick of them shoving "you should want a German car/Honda" down my throat! I'm done! Motor Trend, in particular, is DEAD TO ME. "We don't like this car because it's not a German car/Honda". ARGH!! I saw an article recently where the Focus RS lost to the Civic Type R. Give me a f***ing BREAK. The RS is TWICE the car the Civic is. I remember when the latest Golf R came out. They were SO happy to hand the hot hatch title back to the Golf from the Focus ST. They didn't even care to wait for the production version and actually compare them back to back!

Even the future preview sections in magazines like Automobile and Car and Driver are WEAK. They have MAYBE one blurb about a future car, usually one i don't care about. And then the rest is all tech and statistics and crap! LAME! That used to be my favorite part of the magazine! At one point i knew every last detail of every car available because i was THAT interested! That's gone now. The "new cars for 201X" issues are lame too! Unfortunately Motor Trend does the best one of those because they say SOMETHING about every new car. The others pick and choose a few to say something about and just leave the rest out. STUPID! Subscribing to more than one car magazine, there should not be anything coming out from a car manufacturer i don't know anything about. Happens all the time now. Even from Ford!

Anyway, I've been checking out a few "car opinion" type youtube channels lately. I've found some of them enjoyable. Sometimes you'll even find one where the person actually DOESN'T look down his/her nose at EVERY American car and doesn't necessarily wish it was a German car/Honda! It's SO strange!

This guy, I've enjoyed a few of his videos. He seems a little bit out of touch and his news-reporter way of speaking gets old after a while, but overall, pleasant to watch. (I've been watching some Lincoln videos lately out of curiousity).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUSv8b-V5I4


Now, THIS guy is .... well, crude, but enthusiastic, haha. I think the title for this video should have been "Elegant As F***".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5jo3-924Ek


I've also enjoyed The Fast Lane stuff. They seem pretty knowledgeable and the guys are easy to like.


Anyway, what do you like? Where do you get your automotive news fix? I do read Autoblog and Jalopnik sometimes, but they are definitely old school automotive press. Same as any magazine.

[webestang]

I don't read or keep up with any new car stuff anymore. I used to get 4 or 5 of those rags back in the day and the only one I really liked was Autoweek. But today since no new cars excite me at all, I get old cars mags. LOVE Old Car Weekly and Hemmings Classic Car.

[NY5speed]

I've been a Motor Trend subsciber since I was a teenager, I won't be renewing next time it comes around. I couldn't be more bored with their content over the last few years... could also be because I don't really care a ton for new cars. I currently subscribe to Muscle Mustangs and Fast Fords but the content is super repetitive and there really isn't enough Fox body coverage for my likes, I'll probably drop that one this year too. I really like the direction that Road & Track has taken visually, their photograhy of late is great so they'll get my $9/year for a while longer. My favorite in print are Grassroots Motorsports and its sister mag Classic Motorsports.

[Basin Motorsports]

I don't read any new car magazines, nor watch any content on it. I have bought my share of new cars because I worked for an OEM, but only cared to know about their new cars because it helped my job. Since I left the OEM world for production, I don't follow anymore. I will probably never buy another new car. There are so many used models available, and the aftermarket and replacement costs are so cheap and plentiful, it doesn't entice me anymore.

I do get a lot of print magazines, but they are more about modifying / restoring / entertainment.
- Hot Rod
- Car Craft
- Chevy Hi Performance
- Super Chevy
- Muscle Mustangs & Fast Fords
- Roadkill

They are starting to get repetitive though. I can only read about the '67-'69 Camaro so many times before I get tired of seeing the same car with the same parts in a different color. MM&FF doesn't have a lot of Fox coverage, and I'm wondering when they will be old enoug to start showing up in vintage Mustang magazines.

Digitally I honestly don't watch a lot of content. I have my own YouTube car channel and my wife and I have a second channel on homesteading. Between my day job, two YouTube channels, 3-4 contract writing gigs every week, and our 100 acre homestead, I stay pretty busy. I don't watch what others do too much because I'm too busy doing my own thing. Of those that I do watch regularly are Gary Vaynerchuk (mostly his keynote speeches on entrepeneurship), Kyle Voss at The Fab Forums, and then a few random car and entrepeneur videos once and a while. I was heavy into Roadkill and some of the other TEN shows on YouTube, but lost interest when the started the On Demand pay site and started pushing more and more there. I didn't have the connection speed or data usage to make it worth my money when they started he service.

[ZephyrEFI]

Yeah, honestly I'm not THAT interested in most new cars. Trends such as US automakers dumping ALL their sedans in the next few years do have my morbid curiosity. That will most likely affect my next car purchase decision though, so at least it's relevant to me. Whether Kia decides to come out with yet another size of crossover, though, I couldn't care less. Stuff like that.

I'm pretty disappointed with MM&FF too. I got a new issue about a week ago and haven't even cracked into it yet. They seem pretty clueless about what their readership wants. Like you said, repetitive. I used to like the readers' rides page, but it might as well be the same 4 cars every month. 1 SN95, 1 S550, and 2 S197s with a few bolt-ons. booooooooooorrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnggggggggggg

[Basin Motorsports]

I'm pretty disappointed with MM&FF too. I got a new issue about a week ago and haven't even cracked into it yet. They seem pretty clueless about what their readership wants. Like you said, repetitive.

Actually, I think we are in the minority of readership. I think our last hope was (not is) The Foxcast. It started with very good intentions of constantly showing a lot of different builds of readers. But it's evolved into a "here's a picture of someone's Fox and here's all the video of my build". I think the originator has started to figure out how hard journalism is on any media source when you want to cover something in-depth with clarity and quality. There's a reason people can still make a living as video editors and photographers. It takes an acquired skill set that every person with a new iPhone isn't willing to learn and earn. Sorry, got off on a rant there a little...

Video is the way of the future, so I expect to see more and more video / digital magazines coming out and less and less print staying in business (without another media arm like video).

[ZephyrEFI]

Actually, I think we are in the minority of readership.

Well, that's apparently what THEY think!

I thought it might be cool to see my car on their readers' rides page, but nope, how about another S197 with a cold air kit!

[vintageracer]

Vintage Motorsport

Very well written with fantastic photography on quality paper.

Then ONLY car magazine I keep.

Great coffee table magazine for your snooty friends who know nothing about cars.

http://www.vintagemotorsport.com/

[KevinVarnes]

I remember about 25 years ago I received some complimentary subscription of Automobile magazine. Couldn't read it. I have read Motor Trend and Road and Track in the past, but I've never subscribed. Both seemed like you said to be biased. I used to get Car Craft, Hot Rod, and Muscle Car Review. I also used to read Mopar Muscle and Super Chevy, but as another member posted you get sick of reading about 67-69 Camaros pretty fast. I haven't been subscribed to anything in years. Probably don't have time to read a magazine cover to cover anymore.

Digitally I only stick to car message boards. If I see an interesting link posted somewhere I'll watch it, but I don't go seeking articles or videos unless I am searching for something specific regarding one of my cars.

[xctasy]

Kerry Packer and Rupert Murdoch rule the world. Call into question these, but Media Tycoon's are the bomb, like watching newreals. What ACP Mens repeat is what they are trying to hide.

Australian StreetMachine, Australian Wheels magazine, and United Kingdom Car magazine.

The US stuff, Hot Rod.

The major US car magazines are like the news spools....your better off getting a few, and spending some time tracking and tracing what info they give out.

Money, and looking after bill paying customers by Advertorial is how the west was one.

I hate New Zealand Automtive press with a passion, USA car rags, love 'em. You guys have some smart people. Down here, its all about the petty gossip and Kiwis desire to over compensate for no news... by beeting up anything, and talk about it fast. For me, websits like this are like a Roman or Greek forums, without a language issue. Its great American to have an opinion, and then listen, consider, and actually think. Car magsmight be factional, and run by the same merchanidise or die mentality, but dag nab it, your mags aren't small minded. Anti American? Often. What you guys do to your car industry is pretty bad, but some of the articles are just awesome.

I love Hot Rod, and Americana. You'll go back and see there is a lot more content in what is not said, than what is directly discussed as news. Informations is like Swim Suits. What they dress up is interesting, what they conceal...is vital!

[ZephyrEFI]

Yeah, it would be nice if i was interested in vintage racing, or ANY kind of racing, but.... I'm not. Hence liking Road and Track the least of all that kind of thing. And I'm not going to get much out of a vintage racing magazine. Good to hear what's out there though!

I don't know how you can read Hot Rod. It's boring to me. Those aren't projects, they're professionally built trailer queens. The owner didn't do jack besides go to Chip Foose, drop a couple mil and say "build me a car". So what? Besides, all those shops like the Ring Brothers and stuff, I don't really like what they do to those cars most of the time! I'm sorry, but you CANNOT improve on the design of the '69 Mach 1. It's perfect as is.

Okay, so that said, Car Craft should be more my speed, right? Well... sort of. I think they should follow more what guys like us are doing, building '70s and '80s cars. The blue collar types that that magazine (and muscle cars for that matter) was originally aimed at... we can't afford real muscle cars anymore. If we want something to build, it ain't gonna be a classic muscle car. It's just not. They're out of reach. Car Craft still skews far to heavily towards done-to-death '60s muscle that we can't afford anymore like mid-'60s Mopar mid-sizers and Novas. I mean, i guess those aren't cream-of-the-crop muscle cars like a '69 Camaro, but still. Follow your market, guys. And get Freiburger back. Whatever he wants, give it to him!

[ZephyrEFI]

So, I recently discovered Regular Car Reviews on Youtube. It's pretty entertaining, and they go into the significance of the models in their time period and stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzzMQX5Frfw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqAY0IppaZQ

He also built a cool '60 Falcon with a similar theme to my project, so naturally I like it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kz_UDUdifgQ&t=592s

[NAVYCAT]

so what i hate is that most late model mustang mags are gone and now only 1 left and its now thinner than ever and the price keeps going up! and its filled with drag racing..... nothing against that BUT where is all the road racing???????

[bluesfannoz]

With my Hagerty insurance policy I get their new Magazine. Its not bad. Also get Mustang Times with my membership to MCA. Those are the only magazines I read.

[wilsst]

I am more interested in older cars so I subscribe to these two mags:

Practical Classics www.practicalclassics.co.uk

Classic American www.classic-american.com

other stuff I read on the internet, but it is difficult to balance the PC on your knee when you are on the john!

[ZephyrEFI]

so what i hate is that most late model mustang mags are gone and now only 1 left and its now thinner than ever and the price keeps going up! and its filled with drag racing..... nothing against that BUT where is all the road racing???????

Yeah, those crooks auto-charged me FIFTY DOLLARS for this year! Highway robbery...

[HurricaneJesus]

Majority of my ‘auto journalism’ comes from Jalopnik.com. They’ve got this dude David Tracy that has a fleet of clapped-out Jeeps he’s always working on. Pretty good coverage of most forms of Motorsport. Unfortunately the writers throw in little left-wing quips every now and again but if you can ignore that it’s got everything I need.
Hagerty has one of the best YouTube channels out there. Barn Find Hunter? Time lapses of various engine tear downs? I could watch that junk all day.
I also subscribed to Roadkill Magazine which just closed up shop so they added an extra year to my Hot Rod subscription. I dig certain columns but skip right over the $100k trailer queen builds except for Steve Strope’s stuff. His cars are cool.