An auto mag that is actually worth a subscription

Whenever I make my routine visit to the local B&N to read the latest magazines, I notice that the car rags are regularly the most ruffled, folded and worn. I can't blame the other patrons; most car magazines are a good newsstand read, but that's about it. Most are filled with ads, have subpar editing standards, use cheap paper that seems to rip at the weakest input and aren't well organized. Some issues have some useful information, but I won't consider a subscription to Car & Driver, Motor Trend or Road & Track. Call me a snob.

Automobile Magazine is a cut above. The magazine's production standards are unmatched by any domestic auto publication. The binding is strong, the font used for text is most agreeable to these eyes, articles are written by individuals who have some appreciation for the written word as well as for automobiles, photography is generally excellent, layout is crisp and consistent, and the editorials are brutally honest, if a bit pretentious and rarely politically correct. It is probably the only car magazine, save AutoWeek, where you feel compelled to read cover-to-cover. That's a fairly strong endorsement.

The magazine has a noticeable Euro/German slant that can make some of their opinions appear biased. They don't like GM, though it can be argued that GM is their own worst enemy. But they have a soft spot for Ford, mostly because Ford has a strong Euro presence and has been producing some real enthusiast winners, like the Contour SVT, Mustang Cobra SVT and the new Focus. Engine size and acceleration figures aren't the primary concerns of the magazine; handling, balance, dynamicism and fundamentals are. They consider the cheapo Contour GL the best entry-level car, NOT some appliance from Japan. Sure, a Corolla may run like clockwork, but a Contour is a car that makes you FEEL when you drive. This is where they are coming from.

Automobile is comprised of people who love everything about cars, even if they do manage to step on people's toes in the process. Some writers aren't shy about espousing stereotypes of young girls (they all drive Sunfires in the left lane doing 90) or married women (soccer moms, all of them). A parsing through the monthly reader's forum always elicits a laugh or two as some subscriber inevitably has a cow over something a writer has said about someone or something. Fine, Automobile magazine may not be the perfect 90's publication, as they eschew political correctness, but I think the irreverence is refreshing when put into perspective.

I generally have trust in the writer's opinions and expertise. While the magazine generally won't ever chew up a BMW product, everybody else is fair game. Manual transmissions rule, daytime running lamps suck, everybody should have a $30,000 roadster and nobody should have an SUV (except maybe the capable Grand Cherokee). It's all good conversation and I always await the latest issue in my mailbox.