toiletoctopus's Full Review: Super Street Magazine
I have been in love with cars since a child, and Lamborghini was my first word as a baby. Actually, it was "car" which is close enough. Most of my interactions with vehicles as a youngster weren't with the best of intentions. There was a Ford Pinto that my friends parents owned, that I almost put into reverse out of the driveway when I was about five years old. I got in trouble a few times for throwing rocks at passing by cars in the neighborhood, including the one time it was a really big guy, who personally "walked" me to my parents. As a teenager I understood the concept of joyriding, breaking every possible speed limit, catching air in a conversion van, getting caught naked driving with a girlfriend of mine, and seeing a lot of blue lights.
I look back at these experiences with nostalgic joy, and also am thankful to be alive. Cars have always been important to me, and although I've yet to own a real expensive one, I've had a lot of fun sports cars that were worth their weight in gold. Its been an honor to have friends let me drive their 79 Trans Ams with completely illegal engine enhancements, as well as the LT1 powered Z28that made an ex-girlfriend of mine's eyes grow. Due to this passion I subscribe to some car magazines, such as Car and Driver and MotorTrend. One that I pick up from time to time is Super Street, because I enjoy seeing what people have done to make regular cars a lot faster. There's not a lot of time with family responsibilities to hang out at the local drag strip anymore, so this is about as close as I can get to real racing. Super Street Magazine is geared primarily towards import cars, and although I'm a fan of Korean and Japanese cars for regular family vehicles, I lean towards American products in this arena. Yet, I do have to admit a fascination with being able to turn a Honda Civic orNissan Maxima into a "speed racer". In the April 09 issue, which I just picked up, I was amazed by the customization done on a Civic,and I just love how the feature articles in this periodical cover every aspect. You can see firsthand how the engines are gutted, and from where they originally stood, to what they can handle now. There's detailed information about the suspension alterations, and how a cars aerodynamic frames are changed, to allow them to pick up even more speed on the 1/4 mile track.
This magazine can go over my head a bit, with some of its gearhead terminology, but for the most part its an enjoyable read. There's actually a lot of articles based on the people that own these customized cars, and what inspired them to make changes to the original equipment. You learn about this hobby firsthand, and I like how the articles are usually well written. Unlike Motor Trend, which in recent years has cut a lot of experienced staff members, Super Street has writers who have lots of time in the field. The product reviews in here are researched properly, and I've found a lot of their information to be useful, even though I don't own a car that can be customized right now. Being a family man has responsibilities, which include not having a driveway full of fast cars. That will eventually change.
A lot of times there are articles, about taking these customized cars on road trips, and attending shows. This offers a different perspective to the traditional track dialogue, and I like seeing all of the pictures of the cars in urban and highway environments. The pictures in this magazine are some of the best I've ever seen for a car periodical, and this publication should be entered for awards with regards to photojournalism. I love the up close shots of engines, car accessories, and the vehicles themselves. They always find unique angles that really show each side of a certain car, and yes there are also photos of beautiful women. This is another reason to like this magazine, as its able to put two things I love so much together. Rock on!
Each issue has tech support forums. If you are into car customization/racing, you could probably find most of this information on the net for free. I've found a lot of these questions to appeal to people with a lot more experience with vehicles than I do, so general readers may be a bit turned off by this. I do like the product reviews, and instead of only featuring engine enhancements, they actually discuss aftermarket parts such as stereos and alloy wheels. Their reviews seem to be quite accurate for the most part, and although it can be a bit dry, there is an occasional inside joke through some of these columns.
You are going to get a fair amount of advertising in each issue. That is a bit annoying, but there are some that always capture my attention. These include the ones that are dedicated to wheels, as I love looking at the different ones I can put on my station wagon. You'll also be able to get that 36-24-36 bra for your Dodge Caravan, and also find a gear shifter decoration for your Chrysler Lebaron. I understand that they have to be paid, but Super Streets cover price of $4.99 is too much, along with this much advertising. Each issue is about 80 pages in length, but due to all of the revenue collection, you can expect only about 40 pages of articles and product reviews.
This is the main reason to why I don't subscribe to this magazine. I don't consider it to be a great value, if you only get about a half hour to an hours worth of reading material. If you are into imports, or want to see what is new from time to time, do what I do and just buy it every once in awhile. This magazines fine articles are worthy of the occasional expensive buy, and there are many positive aspects to it. Yet, I don't think I'll ever subscribe to it due to the large amount of ads that can be more than a bit annoying. I'm spending money to read a magazine, not to learn about a company through their paid ads.
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