Car Magazines..which one?

[pwd72s]

Okay, since the new editor took over at AUTOMOBILE, I've decided to let that one drop. I was favoring EUROPEAN CAR as a replacement. But Wayne's post on 911 and PORSCHE WORLD makes me reconsider my options. Thoughts?

[Paul Thomas]

European Car isn't bad. It all depends on your interests. Most of the time i have trouble reading any car article that doesn't have an air cooled Porsche in it. The editor of EC does have a hot S project car and a T that they periodically do stuff to. It can serve as a good base for DIY cause they include lots of good pics and how to.
As always Excellence and 911PW are both great. Sometimes 911PW has less filler. But then again i have built half my car from the ads in Excellence.

[CamB]

Personally I think it depends on your other car related interests.

If you want All Porsche all the time, then 911PW is great (I buy that and Excellence each month).

If you like classic cars, the two English magazines "Classic Cars and Thoroughbreds" and "Classic and Sports Car" are good.

If you like modern cars too, English mags "Car" and "Evo" are good. Evo is more performance oriented.

Said in the most respectful way possible, I find British magazines to be much better (subject matter and content of articles) than their US equivalent, as a general rule. For some reason, the photography is usually excellent as well.

But that is just my opinion...

Cam

[Saffs]

I'm biased being English, of course, but UK mags are very good and being in the US I miss being able to get them as cheap as in the UK. The UK mags cover Classic Cars really well and great for bread and butter classics, as well as exotica - but not many US ones, sadly.
I think for Porsche stuff, Paul, 911 and Porsche World is really good and offsets what you don't get from Excellence. Likewise, you'll get from Excellence what you miss from 911 and Porsche World: so they make a great pair to cover all Porsche magazine needs.
Maybe try an issue or two?

[Wayne 962]

CHP (Publisher of 911 & Porsche World, and a few others) does a kick-ass job on the magazines. I keep telling them they should start a US-specific edition!

-Wayne

[speeder]

I read them all at one time or another and agree that the British classic mags are great, but they also cover a lot of cars and models that we've never seen here which is kind of, huh? I'm sure those Vauxhalls were great, though. Also, whenever they show an interior, (especially Porsche), with driver's seat on the wrong side it's a little wierd, don't you think? Always seems like they exposed it backwards.

Just ribbing you a little, Brits. 911 and PW is very good, indeed.

[firecall999]

As well as the Porsche specific mags I always get Evo.

All things being equal, Evo is a far better magazine than either Excellence or 911&PW. No offense intended to either of those, and I love them 'cause of the Porsche content. But Evo just rules.

Evo also has LOT of Porsche content. Last month it was the 911 Shoot out, and this month is a How to buy a used Boxster article. They also have a 993 Turbo as a staff car.

This month in Evo also has an interview with Lord Mexborough. Lord Mex has a rather impressive car collection. Including 9 Ferraris and a garage just for Porsches, which houses amongst others a 2.7RS, 2.8RSR, 959 and 3.0RSR.
Lord Mex says the only car he would never part with is the 2.7RS. He also just sold the F40. He said it was impratical. So I get the impression he drives all the cars too.

BTW, I have no interest or shares or anything in Evo
alex.

[Eagle Keeper]

I get 911 Porsche world and POST (Porsche Club Great Britians club mag.) I have to say that 911 PW is the best!!! It is definitly worth the money!

Jason
F-15E Crew Chief
'79 911 SC

[adamnitti]

doesn't a subscription to 911 and porsche world cost something exorbitant like $80/year if you live in the u.s.??? i remember that being the only thing that kept me from going ahead and subscribing...

[Saffs]

Originally posted by speeder
Also, whenever they show an interior, (especially Porsche), with driver's seat on the wrong side it's a little wierd, don't you think? Always seems like they exposed it backwards.

Haha
Even funnier is that lots of older - and some newer - Porsches in the UK
are left hand drive -so they probably did expose it backwards sometimes! . Mine is LHD, my friend's C4, countless others I can think of. It's because they come in to the UK from rust free climates (CA etc.), and they come from mainland Europe. Often it's just supply and demand - just not enough RHD to satisfy the market - there is a lot of Porsches in the UK.
The other question is: does anyone know why is the US LHD? Quite a lot of the World is RHD (like Aus. and NZ too), but a lot of it isn't, of course. But how come the US settled for LHD? I've often wondered.
I prefer LHD actually.

[Z-man]

I read Excellence, Panorama and Porscheforus (NNJR PCA region magazine) to get my Porsche information. I also get Road & Track (as I duck for cover from the rotten tomoto being hurled at me!!!)

Also: a great magazine I subscribe to is: Grassroots Motorsports Magazine. Good bare bones, amateur level auto racing magazine. They also throw in some tech stuff (they have a 914 project car, and just finished with a 944 project), and they have an annual Triathalon challenge: next year's is a $2002 challege: build/buy a car for $2002 or less and enter it in three events: autocross, 1/4 drag, and concours. As the magazine title says, it is dedicated to Grassroots-type motorsports. It is also much, much less mainstream than your typical Road & Track, Car & Driver, Motortrend, Automobile...etc. mags.

-Zoltan.

[MBAtarga]

From "What Einstein Told His Barber—More Scientific Answers to Everyday Questions" by Robert Wolke

Why do they drive on the left in some countries and on the right in others?

It goes back to the fact that most humans are right-handed.

Long before we had modern weapons such as guns and automobiles, people had to do battle using swords and horses. Now if you are right-handed, you wear your sword on the left, so that you can draw it out rapidly with your right hand. But with that long, dangling scabbard encumbering your left side, the only way you can mount a horse is by throwing your free right leg over him. And unless you are in a Mel Brooks movie and want to wind up sitting backward on your steed, that means that the horse's head has to be pointing to your left. To this day we still train horses to be saddled and mounted from their left sides.

Now that you are mounted, you will want to stay on the left side as you start down the road, because anyone coming toward you will be on your right, and if that someone turns out to be an enemy, you can whip out your sword with your right hand and be in position to run the scoundrel through. Thus, prudent horsemen have always ridden on the left side of the road.

This left-side convention was also honored by horse-drawn carriages in order to avoid annoying collisions with horsemen. When horseless carriages made their appearance, some countries continued the habit, especially during the overlap period when both kinds of carriages were competing for road space.

So why do people drive on the right in the U.S. and many other countries?

When swords went the way of bows and arrows, the need for defending one's right flank disappeared and traffic rules were suddenly up for grabs. Younger or less tradition-bound countries migrated to the right, apparently because the right-handed majority feels more comfortable hugging the right side of the road. It quickly occurred to left-handed people that it was unhealthy to argue with them.

Some countries that I've been in must have large populations of ambidextrous people, because they seem to prefer the middle of the road.

[emcon5]

Excellence, 911 & Porsche World, and Grassroots Mototsports are my regulars. I subscribe to Excellence (but I don't really know why, the local Railey's grocery store sells it, normally a few days before mine shows up in the mail--still waiting for the new issue).

I buy them at the local Borders Books. I take a quick look at all the other car mags while I am there, and buy any that have interesting looking articles.

The $2000 challenge from Grassroots Motorsport was pretty cool. Some of the things people throw together are pretty cool, like the Dodge Omni with the stick-on wood grain that ran 12sec in the qtr.

On a side note, I need to give a big thumbs up to the local Borders books. Not only do they carry all the mags listed above, but Evo, European car and a slew of others, but the Porsche book selection is pretty damn good as well. They had the Paul Frere book, Vic Elford's Porsche Performance driving book (looks like it is a regular stock item, they reordered it to replace the one I bought a few months ago), The Haynes 911 Restoration book, The 911 Red Book, and an assortment of others. I also bougt "Going Faster" by the guy from Skip Barber school there.

They even had 2 copies of a new book by some guy named Wayne R. Dempsey.

Tom

[pwd72s]

Thanks for all the input, guys. Have to admit tho, Adam's $80 per year post really grabbed me! AUTOMOBILE is still going to go, but maybe I'll just spend that price on a few more stogies for Leland and his friends. Guess I didn't realize it could be that expensive, subscribing to an overseas magazine.

[Tony911Z]

911 & Porsche World has started to offer different versions for the UK and the US. I think it was last issue, someone asked why the preview showed a different cover than they had received. The answer was that there were two versions; though I'm not sure how much of the content is different. I'd probably end up buying both versions anyway because I really like reading about the UK Porsche culture.

There are some other P-car magazines that I've enjoyed. Christoporus, the factory publication--a little propagandaish, not a lick of do-it-yourselfer type material and has some interesting translations. I subscribed untill they changed their billing system about three years ago and made it difficult for US subscribers. Another one I came across while in Europe was Flat 6. I picked up a couple of these and they seem great--just wish I could read French.

My regular fare: R&T, Pano, Excellence, 911 & Porsche World, and Grass Roots Motor Sport and European Car when the content suits me (with EC that seems to be less and less).

Tony Z
'78 SC GP White w/color keyed Fuchs and Turbo tail
FE Warren AFB/Cheyenne WY

[Keith S]

Originally posted by Tony911Z
The answer was that there were two versions; though I'm not sure how much of the content is different.

No other difference - just that some cover items are more "Euro-specific" than others, so may not mean as much to US readers, hence the changes.

KS - Features Editor

[jbailey930]

I agree with all above posts and include Autoweek as a decent rag. It's short (you can read it while on the john), sweet and covers current models, racing news and classics. Also, Dutch Mandel, editor, was co marshall at Rennsport Reunion this year.

[GIBSON]

I have to comment on Autoweek. I read most of the other magazines listed and enjoy them all to one degree or another.
I've had an Autoweek subscription for the longest of any,however, and am now reconsidering. Dutch Mandels recent editorial on Steve Earle and the Historic Races at Monterey was
blatantly wrong, full of false statements and in poor taste.
I'm a director at Laguna Seca so I'm involved in the discussions with Steve in updating our contract to have him hold the races at our track. We have no desire to force him out, we just need a contract that reflects current times and conditions, not conditions from 1980. It is not about money. Mandel never called us or checked his facts. We are having productive discussions with Earle now and things look promising. Articles like Mandel's set things back at bit. If he reports other items in a similar manner I'd take anything he says with a grain of salt. The rest of the magazine is informative and current.
I guess the lesson learned is don't believe everything you read in print.
Ok, I feel better now. My only other complaint is my Excellence comes in the mail about 2 weeks after it hits the newstands (if it comes at all).
I think in the future I'll just buy it at Borders.

Bruce Herrmann

Bruce Herrmann

[turbo dave]

I'd second (third? fourth?) the opinion on EVO. One nice thing about the mag is the focus on 'real world' cars. We have an issue that gets passed around the office a lot, with the best driver's car test- all cars under about $30k, including used cars like the 944 ClubSport. Incredible photography, information on older cars, good track day cars, etc.

The issue on the best 911 ever was fantastic- unlike the US mags, that would do the entire thing in three pages, EVO devotes about 20 pages to a test like that.

[FA-18C]

Sounds like the consensus is Excellence, 911&porsche World, Pano, Grassroots, and Evo (havent seen that), off the cuff throw in This Old House Magazine and im a happy camper...