This past Christmas, I received a 1-year subscription to Car and Driver magazine. Now, I am a car fanatic, so I absolutely love this magazine, but even if you aren't, this is a great magazine if you are looking to buy a new car, or just want to keep up with the automotive news. It offers great articles, comparison tests, columns, and previews of upcoming cars all mixed in with a bit of humor.

Columns and Letters to the Editor: Like your normal magazine, Car and Driver has good columns written by the top editors and a section for letters. The columns cover all sorts of things, like what that editor thinks of a certain car or car companies, stories concerning drivers or just anything that is on their mind. In the letter section, or Backfires as they call it, people get a chance to share their opinion on cars or what they think of certain articles written in the past. People write all sorts of crazy things to the magazine.

Comparison Tests: One of the things that I look most forward to is reading the comparison test. They compare anywhere from 2 to 10 cars at a time. The cars are usually in the same class, I mean they wouldn't compare a Ferrari with a Kia. They compare SUVs, luxury sedans, sports cars and your everyday cars. In the article, they tell you the highs and lows of the car and also it's performance stats.

Previews: I also like the previews of cars in this magazine. They write relatively short articles on the cars, but they make their point. Some of the cars they preview are concept cars that will never make it to the showrooms and others are the next year’s models of the car. In the article, they tell you the price, performance and the highs and lows of the car.

Tests: The tests are somewhat like the comparison tests; only they don't compare the car with another in its class. One bad thing is that most of the cars they test are over $35,000. I would say that 75 percent of the cars are over $35,000. In the articles, they tell you highs and lows, performance, pricing and other information that the reader should know.

Miscellaneous: Some other things that are in the magazine include racing news from NASCAR, CART, Formula 1, and other racing leagues for all the racing fans out there. On the last page, they a cartoon with certain themes, such as the one is the October issue, Automotif. They also cover auto shows and write short excerpts on concept cars, next year’s models, etc.

Subscriptions: I got my subscription as a gift, but if you were to fill out a subscription, it would cost you an outrageously low $12 a year. That is one dollar an issue. You get your magazine around the first of the month.


Recommended: Yes

Recommended For: Hobbyists/Enthusiasts
Primary Reason for Buying: Articles