Picking an Automotive Magazine

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Ok, so I think we've all been to the doctor's office, picked up an auto magazine, and read the crap out of it.

My school is doing a fundraiser for magazine subscriptions, and I would like to pick one up. I've read Car & Driver, Road & Track, and Motor Trend before, and I like them all. I prefer Motor Trend among the others, but they're all great reads.

I can get Road & Track and Car & Driver for $20 for a year, or Car & Driver for $20 for 2 years, Road & Track for $20 for 2 years, and Motor Trend for $18 for 2 years.

Any insight on these magazines, or any other great automotive magazines that I should consider?
 
Those three almost always have the exact same tests going on. I kinda preferred reading Motor Trend myself, but they're known for being pretty biased at times. Automobile is really nice, but more expensive.
 
Motor Trend is better than it was 5 years ago, but it still alternates between "terrible" and "decent," sometimes even in the same issue. I read Automobile and Car and Driver, with Automobile being written a lot more like a European car magazine than any of the other ones. Automobile also talks about a lot of stuff that none of the other three even mention, but it still usually covers the same general info each month.
 
I'm actually reading Autoweek as I type this. You get it twice as often as the other mags, and thus the stories tend to stay a bit more current. I like the reporting, too, seems pretty fair and unbiased. That being said, they're a bit thin...even considering two a month.

and then there's the hilarious "But wait, there's more" segment at the end. I do like that.
 
Well, Motor Trend will probably be my choice. I like Automobile, mainly because they have an App for my Droid, so that is pretty cool too.
 
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is another excellent one to look at. Very high quality writing and photography. This seems to be a more European-style magazine than Road & Track, Car and Driver, or Motor Trend. Besides all your typical car reviews - with typical Automobile classy presentation - they also cover auctions. I love their auction section because they choose a selection of cars and tell you about them, special information, sale prices, etc. Really interesting stuff. Robert Cumberford also does a design analysis on a different car every month, and there's some very interesting incite into car design.

I'm kind of surprised you're so taken by Motor Trend actually. In my opinion, it's garbage. They're name is bigger than it's worth I think. I much prefer Car and Driver's honesty and humor, and Automobile's attention to design and presentation.

Honestly, I can't think of anything about Road & Track that really stands out. I've always related to Car and Driver very well, and now that they've got their art department in line and are looking much more professional, it's pretty much the best all-round magazine of them all. I get all four mags by the way, because they all offer something unique, but if I had to choose one it would definitely be Car and Driver. It mixes the serious and factual stuff with the entertainment better than any of the others. Automobile would be my second choice.
 
I'd say Motor Trend. I've read them all except Road & Track, Car and Driver seemed a little lacking for my stat mind, Automobile was just empty feeling, I couldn't really read it for more than 3 issues, but Motor Trend, while biased at times (the Mustang has appeared in 6 of 9 issues this year and his hit cover maybe 5 times, the Ram 2500/3500 was biased in TOTY testing, there's a bit of a bias for the LR4, and the M3, etc.) But it's a good read, I enjoy reading it, and afterwards I can sit there and say, "nah, I don't like that result"

I also do monthly 0-60 times vs. HP measurements for MT, and if anyone's interested in seeing those, I could put them up here.

Get Motor Trend.
 
What, no import mags? Dsport magazine and Modified are pretty much my favorite of the bunch. Car and Driver would be my choice if thats all you have to choose from the selection.
 
Keef
Honestly, I can't think of anything about Road & Track that really stands out.
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That's what I thought, too, when I let my subscription lapse. I can't figure out why, but I missed it, so I renewed :lol:. They do tend to have awesome racing features frequently. And, this month's cover story is ALMS racecars vs. their road-going counterparts. Pretty cool! (Surprise! The racecars mutilate the street cars around a track :lol:)
 
Kylehnat
That's what I thought, too, when I let my subscription lapse. I can't figure out why, but I missed it, so I renewed :lol:. They do tend to have awesome racing features frequently. And, this month's cover story is ALMS racecars vs. their road-going counterparts. Pretty cool! (Surprise! The racecars mutilate the street cars around a track :lol:)
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:lol:

I laugh because I renewed too after a 6 month lapse. After years and years of these mags I just felt like I was missing something. You're totally right about the racing features, as I can picture some of them in my head from years ago.
 
just stay away from Consumer Reports. not only is it expensive (they run off donations), they have a Honda bias that's positively sickening. C&D comes off as Sarcasm City, screwy, and loaded with readers that are "stop having fun, guys", while MT is more performance oriented and you have to keep checking the copy to make sure the writers weren't too busy drooling over the cars to write (which is why I bought C&D to counter MT)

the lack of maturity and the mega-bias in all the car mags I've read over the years is why I come here for news. it's more balanced, here.
 
Since I buy car magazines less for the relevant-to-my-market stuff, and more for the writing itself and the photography, I'll stick to Evo. Pricier, but feels like quality compared to the US mags. Writing is fantastic (and obviously the scenery is to match), though as has been said, Automobile probably gets closest to replicating that feel (as they've shared some writers over the years, most notably Kacher).

Does MT still vastly alter their performance figures?
 

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