Hi All, sorry I didn’t post Tuesday. It’s vacation time… And if you want to know where I am, I am in good ol’ Los Angeles. If you don’t believe me, watch Randy Newman sing “I Love LA”!
“Nutty” granny, or ‘odd’ uncle (I know NOTHING about that…) wanting to know what’s on the wish-list of the car enthusiast for Chanukkah? Here’s some great ideas for them.
Hemming’s Motor News is “the Bible of the Industry Since 1954.” It offers good deals for tools, lifts, shop manuals, cars, and even planes! Hemming’s is mainly a magazine that specializes in the classic car industry and market. Their magazines contains lots of ads, auction coverage and articles reviewing classic cars. They also host monthly cruise nights in Bennington, Vermont, live coverage (on their website) from auctions such as: Barrett-Jackson, Russo & Steele, Bonhams, and swap meets. There are well-used cars, trucks and SUVS, fussy collector cars with under 1,000 miles, and so on… Here’s an example of how Hemming’s works: Let’s say you’ve got a 16 year old son. He wants a 1953 Packard Carribean. You decide to get him one for Christmas, so you look in Hemming’s and there’s a practically brand-new Packard Carribean with everything your son wants: big V8, four-on-the-floor, air conditioning and so on – for only $13,000! That’s what Hemming’s has to offer us! If you get the enthusiast of the family a subscription before January 1, 2012, then the family enthusiast will have Hemming’s for only $31.95 a year! So, overall, Hemming’s Motor News is probably the only good classic car magazine around (since 1954…). I highly recommend going to a local bookstore and picking up a copy! You’ll stand there until closing time (and then some!)!
Car & Driver is another GREAT gift for the family enthusiast for Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanza, Festivus (sorry, just couldn’t help myself…), or whatever else you might celebrate. A subscription of around $18.00 will get the enthusiast twelve issues of great comparisons, a 10Best issue, a New Car/SUV/Truck Buyer’s Guide and SOOOOOO much more! Hint: I would be fine with Hemming’s, and/or Car & Driver!… My personal favorite of the Editor’s Columns for Car & Driver is John Philips. He is funny, tells a lot about what’s going on in the auto world with a sense of humor, and funny stories about the auto industry. But, the one reason that I LOVE Car & Driver is because they have great comparisons, good(ish) choices for 10Best cars, cool road test data, among other things. Overall, Car & Driver is one of the authorities if the new-car industry. If you don’t want a subscription, then your local library will most likely have all the issues of Car & Driver from the past two years (at least!). By the way, I’ve got a 1952 copy of Car & Driver.
The Unmuffled Auto News 
My cousin used to be a writer for Car and Driver Magazine! He is an FBI agent now. Seriously. Perhaps we will read your articles in that magazine some day!
Cynthia