Honda, ad, Honda, ad, ad, Honda, Honda, ad
Written: Jan 24 '01 (Updated Jan 24 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: In-depth information, well-written.
Cons: Limited scope of articles, tons of ads, only worth it if you love Hondas
The Bottom Line: Great if you love Hondas, but a bit biased if you don't. It does have well-written and informative articles about modifications and the SCC scene.
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| B_Campbell's Full Review: Sport Compact Car Magazine |
Scanning the auto section of the magazine rack at a local book store, I saw a magazine with what looked like a serious machine on the cover. It was a Honda Civic with all kinds of logos and decals, nothing terribly new, but this car looked like it meant business. Picking it up, I noticed some terms and jargon that you don't see in many 'hot-rod' mags; lateral G's, hp/weight ratios, slip angles, etc.
I scanned the articles, and was reasonably impressed. The writing was good, and there were lots of technical articles which really explained the details of modifying compact cars to beginners and experts alike. I wasn't interested in buying, so I skipped it, but Sport Compact Car stuck in my head a bit.
A little while later, I noticed my roomate was recieving SCC in the mail. I used this as a chance to bum issues and read a little more in depth, and while I was hooked at first, after a few issues my intrest waned. I still liked thier in-depth explanations of technical details, but I became disenchanted after reading the seveth article about a Honda Civic and the third about an Accord in three issues.
A 'Sport Compact Car' is hard to define. To most, it's a car in the 'compact' or 'subcompact' vehicle class, with a respectable engine, drivetrain, and suspension. These are cars that are designed not only to go from point A to point B, but to be fun as well. To most, any small car can be a sport compact car with enough work, and they can come from any maker as long as they have respectable performance. To this magazine, however, 'sport compact cars' are almost always Japanese, and even then almost always Hondas. It is rare to see a European or US car grace the pages of this magazine, and when they do, they're outnumbered about 10 to 1.
Each issue is set up nicely and has several key features. There are the normal editorials in the front, followed by reader letters. These letters are usually implorations for help from some lonely person who has gotten themselves halfway through a vehicle upgrade and is stuck, and the staff is generally very good at answering them. You don't see sophmoric one-liners here.
There is then usually a large cover feature. This is either a feature on a specific car that has been recently released, or a specific car and owner who is important to the 'sport compact' scene, such as a successful SCCA member. After that, several suped up cars and owners are featured, about 3-6 in each issue. In all of these features, the writers go in-depth into the inner workings of the car and performance modifications.
Next, there is an article pertaining to the 'sport' of sport compacts, such as autocrossing or rally races. Then there are usually two articles about the magazine's 'project cars'. These are cars that the magazine are turning into serious machines, and the writers detail a major aspect of the job in each issue for two of the cars. They go very in-depth, explaining all the technical spects and methods for readers who are doing similar modifcations.
While the magazine is well laid-out, well ritten, and includes a fair amount of information, I explained one of it's weak points above. It features Japanese imports almost exclusively, which in my eyes is a huge oversight. While I personally like VW's, and they are featured once in a while, I know there are tons of US and European car lovers out there who would like to see their favorite cars featured. These cars aren't less suitable for the subject, and aren't even that much less popular on the street, it's just easier to talk about Hondas because that's what everyone else talks about.
In addition, this magazine is literally full of ads. About half the magazine is advertising, and several of the ads (such as wheel or tire suppliers) are 4+ pages long! That's longer than most of the articles! In fact, most of the articles have information on only 1/2 of every two pages after the first page, the other 3/4 of a 2 page spread being covered by an ad. This is just inexcusable, and really hampers my enjoyment of the magazine when I'm trying to thumb back through it for a specific article. Taking out all the ads would reduce the size of the magazine by at least 50%.
Also, while each article does go fully in-depth, most of the technical and modification articles are about the same thing. You'll see lots of precise explanations of how to lower a car 2 inches, how to install a turbocharger, or how to perform an engine swap (thier 3 favorite subjects, apparently). After 3 or 4 issues, you feel like you're reading the same thing, just with different cars.
If you're a Honda nut, you'll love this magazine. However, if you're an unbiased car lover, who can appreciate a well-built machine no matter who builds it, I'd say search that magazine rack a bit more. Still, for car nuts who want to make sure they're gettig the best and most accurate info, this is probably the best thing going.
Recommended:
No
Primary Reason for Buying: Product Reviews/Information
Recommended For: Hobbyists/Enthusiasts
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Epinions.com ID:
B_Campbell
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Member: Bennett Campbell
Location: In a Volkswagen somewhere in upstate NY
Reviews written: 204
Trusted by: 151 members
About Me:
Guantanamo Aloha
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