The rebirth of Road & Track

[Deschodt]

Just a public service announcement: if you abandoned R&T years ago because it sucked, you owe it to yourself to give it a fresh look. It has improved on the same level as Panorama did since Pete Stout took over and reformatted it. The magazine is under new younger management, with the likes of Sam Smith (of roundel fame), Jack Baruth, the occasional Peter Egan, Chris Harris or Sam Posey column... Those dudes can write! But mostly the focus is again on Road and track! ...and classics.. No more dry/boring/tedious minivan reviews... The past issue on Singer 911s was great, I could not bear to recycle it when finished. This one, with the Shelby Daytona coupe is another superlative piece of writing and photography... The annual sub costs about the same as one Starbucks beverage with whipped cream - check it out... Those guys deserve increased circulation, they're doing it right, they're enthusiasts like us!

[regency]

What is this "Magazine" thing you speak of???

Something on the Interweb?

1973 911 T MFI Coupe, Aubergine
Steve

[strupgolf]

I recently renewed and like the new mag. Totally changed from before. Great writing, pictures.

[BeyGon]

Thanks, I will check it out again because I think AUTOMOBILE has gone downhill in the last year or so.

[GH85Carrera]

I might check it out.

I have been a subscriber to Autoweek since it was a pulp. Now it has an issue on occasion about every two weeks sometimes 3 weeks. The articles suck and the writing is poor. I will not be renewing my subscription to Autoweek. They should rename it to "Auto-sometimes bi-weekly."

I dropped my Excellence subscription. It went downhill as much as Panorama went up. I LOVE the new Panorama. It is amazing.

[herr_oberst]

I noticed that the latest R&T had a Peter Egan "Side Glances" column, wherein he buys a Morgan (in pieces), with the implication that we were going to ride along while he bolted it back together, in the inimitable Egan style. It felt like a time warp, because I was sure that I'd read that he'd retired SG, and was just going to do the occasional "editor at large" piece, maybe a road trip or a classic car review. I reread all the editorial columns to see if there was any mention. No mention.

A curious turn of events, but I look forward to future columns!

As for Excellence, the only good thing about that mag is that Denis Jenkinson (late of R&T) is on staff now. That doesn't justify a subscription for me, but I do like the way he writes.

[strupgolf]

"I have been a subscriber to Autoweek since it was a pulp. Now it has an issue on occasion about every two weeks sometimes 3 weeks. The articles suck and the writing is poor. I will not be renewing my subscription to Autoweek. They should rename it to "Auto-sometimes bi-weekly." Quote from above.

I too have been subscribing to Autoweek for 50 years. I won't be renewing. Mini vans, suv's, ad after ad, very little racing news, nope not aymore.

[dave 911]

Agree, I really like the new format/style/content also.

[Noah930]

Not renewing. I think I've had a subscription for the past 23 or 24 years. But last 12-24 months just totally lost it for me. My attention span isn't short enough for its new format. It's gotten heaps better in the past few months, but it's a shadow of what it used to be, IMO.

[Deschodt]

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

As for Excellence, the only good thing about that mag is that Denis Jenkinson (late of R&T) is on staff now. That doesn't justify a subscription for me, but I do like the way he writes.

They resurrected the Jenks ? ;-) You got the wrong Dennis, I tink you mean simmanatis or something ? ;-) I share your feeling though !

Ditto others on Autoweek. I loved it until they went biweekly (though it feels like "when-we-feel-like-it-ly"). Won't renew.

But I think $10 a year is peanuts to read Smith, Baruth, Harris, occasional Egan etc...
I spend that daily in bridge toll!

[flipper35]

I hope the print version is better than the spastastitronic web site of theirs.

[monoflo]

Yep RT is pretty good again --though I miss Egan
It seems to be the best as I tend to read Automobile, Motor Trend, C and D, etc
As for Automobile -- I was a charter subscriber -- that I am now letting it run out/
As for the others I use em to kill time in airports

[Otter74]

I had let my R&T sub lapse a few years ago, more out of passivity than anything else. Then I saw the cover with Jim Clark's Lotus (the Indy car, I think) on the cover and the graphic design really grabbed me - the colors, layout, typefaces, etc. were terrific. That issue alone got me to resubscribe. I like it. But I do miss a lot about the R&T of the 80s, and earlier. I started reading it in 1984, but I have a bunch of older issues.

[Manny Alban]

Ironically, one of the reasons the revised Panorama is so beautiful is Richard Baron. Richard is Pano's Creative Director. He is very talented, but those in the industry already know that. He's also responsible for many other PCA media projects.

Richard was the R&T Design Director for R&T from 2004-2012.

[herr_oberst]

Originally Posted by Deschodt

They resurrected the Jenks ? ;-) You got the wrong Dennis, I tink you mean simmanatis or something ? ;-) I share your feeling though !

Do'h! That deserves a Faceplant! You're right, it is Siminatis. RIP, Jenks.

[KNS]

I let my R&T subscription lapse years ago. I picked up the Singer issue at the airport not long ago and was surprised that I enjoyed nearly the whole issue.

Perhaps I'll check it out since I'm going to let Excellence go (not that it's bad, it just that Panorama covers most of it for me).

Hemmings Sports & Exotic still my favorite at the moment.

[Rinty]

Thanks for the note. I'd kind of lost interest in R/T and C/D, along with most of the newer machines, but I'll give this a look.

I see Egan has been writing some special motorcycle pieces too.

[Tobra]

I get Grassroots Motorsports that I pay for a subscription. Autoweek shows up regularly and I never had a subscription to that.

[Flieger]

Originally Posted by Noah930

Not renewing. I think I've had a subscription for the past 23 or 24 years. But last 12-24 months just totally lost it for me. My attention span isn't short enough for its new format. It's gotten heaps better in the past few months, but it's a shadow of what it used to be, IMO.

Funny, I like it much better now because it is less ADD. There are not the endless sidebars and distractions like Car and Driver did (I think Road and Track tried them too) a few years ago. RT is easy to read straight through and flows well in my opinion. Fewer stories but that makes them seem more well done. More emphasis on photos too.

[Noah930]

Originally Posted by Flieger

Funny, I like it much better now because it is less ADD.

Oh, it's definitely better now than what it was about a year or two ago. For about 6 months, they got by on just pictures, captions, blurbs, and one-liners. It was beyond horrible. But today arrived the last issue of my subscription, and I've decided not to renew.