Cars & Parts Magazine - Former Top Dog Lacks Luster In Light Of The Competition

Nothing warms my heart more on a chilly, gray day than discovering the latest automotive collector’s magazine in my mailbox. The trauma of the recent TV Guide melt-down freed-up the necessary magazine budget funds to once again subscribe to the Gray Gentleman of car talk. Celebrating its fiftieth anniversary this year, this former standard of its genre offers a variety of featured articles, columns and reader feedback for the serious collector, or casual old car fan.

Using the February, 2007 issue as an example, the four featured vehicles reflect a Pickup Truck theme. I find that these occasional “Special Issue” offerings are more often an attempt at bumping newsstand sales than providing serious truck coverage. Specialty publications such as Vintage Truck have more to offer the dedicated truck enthusiast.

A paucity of information

The articles on featured vehicles run an average of three pages. Two pages of captioned excellent quality photographs are interspersed with approximately one page of text. As an avid reader on the subject, I find the written content regarding vehicles familiar to me provides little additional information; the occasional obscure statistic being the exception. Cars & Parts is truly an advocate of light reading in the most important area of enthusiast publications. When P.T. Barnum said “Always leave ‘em wanting more”, I don’t think he meant this in regard to the written word.

Whattaya Columns?

If Cars & Parts excels in any area, it would have to be in the content and presentation of its various columns. “At the Wheel” this month provides a trip down memory lane, highlighted by the foresight and importance of collecting early Automobilia - which includes items that pertain to filling stations and advertising from an earlier era.

“Reader’s Forum” is a fancy term for the “letters to the editor” from days-gone-by, and has consistently interesting input regarding the content of past issues.

“Headlights” covers the latest goings-on in the automotive world. New books and videos of interest are explored, as are proposed changes in state and federal law, storage by-laws and automotive title concerns that may affect the antique car collector.

“Tool Bag” is a two-page spread that covers reader problems on very specific issues. Unless you need to know about the “overdrive kickdown wiring on your 1956 Ford transmission”, this section is strictly hit or miss for both casual reader or enthusiast. If you’re the one with that particular problem, congratulations - your vigilance has paid-off.

My favorite column is the monthly illustrated “Salvage Yard” feature, which examines the American junk yard in all its glory. Many a restorable automobile has been rescued through this public service, which also gives readers access to those hard-to-find parts-cars often necessary to complete the process.

“Ford Country” covers all things Ford - cars, people, buildings, tombs - you name it. Two pages of Ford facts such as “Where were Henry and Clara Ford married?” get a yawn and a pass from this Studebaker/AMC guy.

Which reminds me...

of my main beef with Cars & Parts Magazine. My interests lean more toward the independent manufacturers whose corporate struggles were often as intriguing as their products. An unbalanced emphasis toward the “mainstream” makes and models puts the publication in the “second tier” among its peers. The “Tri-Five” (1955-57) Chevrolets are interesting, but everything’s been said ad nauseam on the subject. Outrageous prices for even an entry-level example put these cars out of reach of all but the elite collector. Liken it to constantly reading about the houses of celebrities far beyond our individual means - who needs this constant reminder of our deprivation? Finding information on those affordable hidden gems in the market is what keeps the hobby interesting for this reader.

Ads - Classified and otherwise

A whopping 25 pages out of the 104 total are dedicated to full, or majority-of-page advertising. On a positive note, the featured articles are grouped together and presented ad-free, for the most part. Like most national publications, the Classified Ads located at the back of the magazine may as well be carved in stone. By checking your favorite make every other month, you will miss nothing, save for the redundancy of your effort.

Spare, tired and lacking horsepower...

No matter how long you subscribe to Cars & Parts, you will never receive a discount on future renewals. My most recent re-up cost me $16 for six issues. My copy is produced for subscription distribution, so no cover price is listed. However, a quick trip to their website shows it to be $3.99 per issue, at the time of this writing. Market newcomer Hemming’s Classic Car is a far-superior magazine in all aspects - larger, cleaner format, more featured articles per month with a more comprehensive, detailed content. To sweeten the deal, I was offered a 3 year renewal - 36 issues for $40 - with Hemming’s, shortly after subscribing.

If you plan to subscribe to only one car magazine, make it Hemming’s Classic Car. They may be the new kid on the block, but they circle it with a style and substance Cars & Parts either lost along the way, or simply never had.

Cars & Parts Magazine
Amos Press, Inc.
4265 New Tampa Highway
Lakeland, FL 33815
Customer Service: 800-448-3611
carsandparts.com