There is a certain time of the month that I await eagerly and with much anticipation: when the car magazines arrive. I am subscribed to Road and Track (2 years), Car and Driver (3 years), and have just recently received my second issue of Automobile Magazine. When I am encountered with the glorious site of my mailbox jam-packed with those three beautifully glossy journals, I read them in the following order: Automobile Magazine, Car and Driver, and finally, Road and Track.
...Road and Track last? What gives?
This isn't to say that I do not like R&T. Quite the contrary. I have, after all, recently renewed my subscription. As for Automobile Magazine, I grab it first right now because it's a novelty for me since it's new. I might switch the order around later.
That said, R&T still isn't my absolute favorite car magazine, but there are many redeeming qualities the magazine possesses, and you may in fact discover that this is the magazine you seek when you read this review.
WHAT'S GOOD ABOUT IT?
Cutting Edge: R&T is usually on the front lines when it comes to exposing the future of the automobile- not the distant future, mind you... there's no "flying cars of tomorrow" between any of their covers. However, when it comes to First Drives, racing news, or Car Show coverage, R&T covers it with professionalism, accurate facts, predictions, and interesting insights.
Appreciate the Classics: Having said that R&T loves the new stuff, it would be unfair to say it means they leave out the old. In almost every issue you will see a report of a muscle car of the bygone era come out of no where. It is fascinating the way they run reports about them and compare their technology to that of today's cars. Especially good was their "100 Best Cars of the Century" feature. It hit on the old and the new extremely well. Fascinating reading indeed.
Comparison Tests: Probably the most interesting portions of the magazine are the comparison tests, which occur almost every issue. Every test is completely thorough and well-written. Recently they allude to handling characteristics of some cars in a comparison as dancing styles that each of them was unique for. That's a clever answer to addressing a category of car that cannot be judged merely by numbers.
"What's a book without pictures?" R&T has this base completely covered with beautiful photographs (better than any of my other magazines), and clear-cut captions. I find that I've referred back to older issues just to get a glimpse of a car's beautiful snapshot.
WHAT ABOUT THE BAD STUFF?
Not enough test drives: My biggest complaint with R&T is that not enough test drives are done per issue. Car and Driver does at least 5 test drives of upcoming cars in each issue, whereas Road and Track is more along the order of 2 or 3, tops.
Layout not as readable: One thing that I like about Car and Driver is that the layout of the photographs and articles are very clean, with a format that's not an eye-sore. R&T, for some reason, gives me a bit of a headache after some heavy reading. It's a lot "louder," if you follow my reasoning.
Editorials and stories could be better: I've found that I don't even finish some of these articles because they do not grab my attention enough. Sometimes they are just way too obscure to capture my interest. For instance, a recent article was about the editor recovering some old classic cars from a swamp and appraising them. Sounds interesting, right? Well, maybe. But there were no pictures and just a bunch of rambling text to describe it. Nah- I just skip that stuff.
"Hand-Me-Down" Road Tests: This goes for Car and Driver as well... the two magazines are sold/owned under the same publishing company (I think), and sometimes a test-drive I see in one issue the previous month will come out of nowhere onto the other magazine the next month. This has happened 3-4 times since I've been subscribed to R&T. If you're already subscribed to one of these magazines, be careful before considering the other one.
Not critical enough: If a car sucks, I want to know about it. Car and Driver (sorry I keep comparing the two) tells it like it is. R&T is a lot more conservative with criticism, and sometimes come across as way too glowing. That's not to say they're not objective. It's just that sometimes a neutral stance on everything can get a little boring.
Not enough "everyday" cars: It seems to me that the writers of R&T hate having to report your normal, less-than-$80,000 car. Those that cost more are given much more attention (i.e., in comparison tests), whereas normal cars are sometimes non-existent or given a mere page or two. I realize that the name "Road and Track" implies that more cars suited for the "track" would be emphasized, but there is definitely not a 50/50 split between the "road" and "track" names. So you've been warned: these guys love their exotic cars.
THE VERDICT: WHAT KIND OF AUTO ENTHUSIAST ARE YOU?
If you like to read about a bunch of cars, budget or luxury, this is not the magazine for you. If, however, you like a lot of attention and a ton of detail given to just a few cars that you might never see in your garage, then R&T is for you. I like R&T because it really keeps me up to speed in terms of "car speak" and keeps me abreast of technological news in the automotive and racing world.
Yes, I grab this magazine last, but I still enjoy almost every page between the covers. Think you would?
Recommended:
Yes
Primary Reason for Buying: Articles Recommended For: Hobbyists/Enthusiasts
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