Car mag for one who isn't interested in pre '65 or post 95?

June 13, 2015 1:27 PM

I like discovering and reading about [old-ish but not too old] cars. Thing is, I seem to have very odd, particular tastes and I can't find a magazine that really suits it. Does anyone have any suggestions for magazines (paper or electronic) to subscribe to?

I don't really care about anything made after 1995 or so (with occasional exceptions). Don't care about how the new Mazda 3 drives, don't care about the latest Lamborghini Whateverador. I have a subscription to Car and Driver but they rarely have anything that interests me. I also don't really care for anything pre 1965, which rules out a lot of "classic" car magazines. Stuff from the 30's-50s does absolutely nothing for me. I start getting interested around the mid 60s.

So what do I like?

I like anything weird, forgotten, unexpected, overlooked. I really like mundane Japanese-designed cars from the mid 80s to early 90s. The boxy-er the better (I drive a '92 Geo Tracker/Suzuki Sidekick. I like re-branded imports, like the Dodge Raider. I love Toyota Tercel SR5s, 80s Nissans. I like evolutionary dead ends, like the Suzuki X-90, the Subaru Baja. I like bad cars, if it appears on a list of the "50 Worst Cars of the 80s" I probably want to learn about it. I also like older performance cars, the BMW M1, VW Rabbit GTI, Fiat X1/9, 131 Abarth, Mark 1 MR2, early 90s Fieros etc. I like stuff that has a rally heritage. I like most anything vintage from smaller makers. Love Lancias, Alfas. I like muscle cars up to about the 4th generation Mustang.

So where do I read about these things? Right now I get my fix with an eBay alert that shows me anything that hits the auction block for less than $2000, that turns up some interesting stuff. I also really enjoy the Petrolicious YouTube channel. Almost everything on there is interesting to me. I know I'm not going to find "boring mid 80s to early 90s Japanese commuter car Quarterly" out there so if I could find a print version of that I'd be happy.

posted by nathancaswell to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (9 answers total)

Not a magazine, but you may really enjoy Roadkill. Two dudes wrench on and beat on whatever old junk they have lying around, and then they drive it. Sometimes they drive it to the desert where they bash it around in the dirt, sometimes they drive it to the drag strip and try to beat shiny cars down the track, and sometimes they drive it over a Prius. They fit (mostly) into your time frame. They tend towards Detroit steel, but have done projects on a wide range of vehicles including an old Datsun, a classic Jaguar, and even a speedboat. It's akin to a very dirty Petrolicious.
posted by carsonb at 1:36 PM on June 13, 2015 [1 favorite]

Blog instead of a magazine, but Hooniverse would be right up your alley.
posted by hwyengr at 1:43 PM on June 13, 2015 [1 favorite]

MotorWeek's YouTube channel regularly posts old reviews from earlier in their run that would fit your time period (think reviews of then-current cars from the 1980s and 1990s): see the Retro Review playlist.

You might also enjoy the somewhat-NSFW (in a Mr. Plinkett sense) and very bizarre Regular Cars channel, which frequently covers cars from your period (Honda CRX, Toyota MR2, Buick Grand National) in their current (i.e. dilapidated) state.
posted by mcwetboy at 2:02 PM on June 13, 2015 [1 favorite]

Two blogs I visit that might appeal: Curbside Classics and daily turismo. Neither is 100% pre 95 but both have write ups of low buck unusual cars (CC is more long form)
posted by Mitheral at 3:14 PM on June 13, 2015 [1 favorite]

Japanese Nostalgic Car generally covers what you are interested in. I have never subscribed to the magazine, but the blog is updated once a day with short articles and the forums seem quite active. They don't want to cover much of anything that is less than 25 years old and there weren't many Japanese cars in the US pre-1965, so you are safe with your time periods.

You might check out JDM Legends, too. They don't do much write-ups, but they like to bring Japanese market only cars to the US to resell. Japanese Classics in Richmond, VA, does the same.

If you like Curbside Classic, as suggested above, you might also like Old Parked Cars. They've slowed down a bit lately, I think, but the archives are pretty deep.

I have an 89 Chrysler Conquest, so I have a car that ticks all your buttons it would seem - captive import, boxy, 80s, (some) rally heritage, dead end, etc. If you lived closer to me, I'd try to sell it to you! :)
posted by Slothrop at 3:26 PM on June 13, 2015

A fair number of the entries on Bring A Trailer will interest you, I think.
posted by Dip Flash at 3:35 PM on June 13, 2015 [1 favorite]

I came to suggest Motorweek's Retro Reviews, but mcwetboy beat me to it.
posted by LoveHam at 3:35 PM on June 13, 2015

If you can interest yourself in reading about cars available in the British market, Practical Classics may be of interest.
posted by sardonyx at 6:30 PM on June 13, 2015

Response by poster: Thanks ya'll, all these answers are great. I wouldn't have thought to look for vintage car reviews. YOU GET A CAR! AND YOU GET A CAR!!!

Slothrop, don't tempt me... I have a major soft spot for Starions.
posted by nathancaswell at 7:12 AM on June 15, 2015