Regarding Road & Track:
I have to admit I'm disappointed with the number of pages over the last few
years. I
started subscribing in the late 70s, and I remember getting some issues that
were
rather hefty in thickness. Just looking through my library shelf of R&T back
issues,
those with over 175 pages are now the rarities. Page counts in the 120s to
130s seem
the norm now. I still look forward to every issue, but there is more month
left over
before the next one now.
I concur with the person who mentioned Rob Walker's F1 reports. What great
reading those columns were! I enjoyed those even when I did get to see F1
races on
ESPN. I got the insider's post-race insight into the weekend's events. (Is
Walker
writing F1 reports for anyone else now? If not, what a pity.)
I also miss the biography-like columns they used to have back when I first
subscribed. They would be a half- or third-page look at someone of interest to
enthusiasts, often from the world of racing. Not necessarily drivers, but
others that
were important in their own right.
They used to do styling analyses of new enthusiast autos, too, something I
especially
enjoyed. (When I was a kid, I thought I wanted to be an auto designer when I
grew
up.)
Some of the more current features are ones I do like a lot, though. These
include:
-- Peter Egan's column, of course.
-- The occasional "Used Car Classic" pieces are also interesting, spotlighting
affordable enthusiast cars and including enough information to be a good
starting
point for someone in the market. (Although rarely featuring cars with the
bang-for-
the-buck ratio of our MGs.)
-- Anything written by Phil Hill and Paul Frere is definitely worth reading.
(I wish
we'd see more racing history pieces from Frere. He deserves more space than
his
little "Letter From Europe" and Porsche updates. Anyone read his piece on
Olivier
Gendebien? Terrific.)
-- The occasional bits on affordable racing, like the article on racing an RX-7
in
SCCA, the several Solo I articles and challenges, the SCCA Run-Offs, etc.
I have attempted to keep all my back issues (scattered over a couple decades'
worth
of stuff moved between states several times), and I keep threatening to dig the
old
ones out and read them again. (That happens every time my wife says they
should
just be thrown out.)
I have no doubt that true car guys are writing the magazine, but in this age of
infoglut I'm sure their mandates have changed.
Now, I do wonder how much of this nostalgic perspective is due to the fact that
"the
good old days" always look better from a distance, and the fact that I myself
have
changed. The cars I used to lust after are now just nice fantasies. I will
probably
never be able to afford them; even if I could, there are more important uses
for my
money.
</rambling>
--
Keith Gernert
79 MGB
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