Motoring Magazines - reading for car enthusiasts years ago!
A brief introduction to this new section being assembled at oldclassiccar ...
Motoring magazines have been around for almost as long as the automobile itself. Many titles have been and gone, with just a few of the 'old timers' still
available at the newsagent. In this section at oldclassiccar, I hope to feature some magazine titles that I've come across over the years, that relate to the motorcar in some form or other. There will be heaps of titles that I've never heard of, or else never had chance to look at in any detail, but with a bit of luck I'll get a reasonable selection of car magazines into this section for your perusal.
By their very nature, magazines tend to be bought, read, then either chucked straightaway, passed on to another keen reader, or end their days as bathroom fodder before being deposited in the bin a few weeks later.
A few though are stashed away in ever growing piles of paper, 'just in case' an article might be of use in future. The magazines that have survived to this day will have had this treatment at some point in their life - any less-than-perfect storage usually kills off an old magazine, either at the hands of the elements, or else thanks to rodents with an appetite for the printed word. Even collections carefully hoarded for many years can end their days in landfill, simply because hauling piles of magazines during a housemove can be just too much to contemplate.
Some titles were much more popular than others, and this is usually reflected in the scarcity (or otherwise) of those that remain today. Some titles, such as The Motor or Autocar, can still be found fairly easily, whereas some titles, including those that were fairly specific to a make or model of car, can take much longer to track down.
Collectors nowadays might stick to just one title, perhaps focus on any motoring magazine from a given era, or else try to hunt down any mag that featured a road test on a particular car of interest. Me? I just tend to keep any old car mags that I find that are of interest, although I do try to keep a cut-off of the 1970s in mind wherever possible!
Please call back here again shortly, by which time hopefully I'll have added in some pages specific to mags, such as those shown below (Motor Sport, The Motor, Autocar, Mechanix Illustrated, Commercial Motor, Motor Trader, Practical Motorist, Measham, Autosport, Car Mechanics, and Motor Repair & Overhauling).
Sample magazine covers
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