The Era of Auto Zines is Here
Print gets a second chance thanks to low-cost culture rags.
HAPPY RACE DAY, especially to the Lane Motor Museum in Tennessee which now has a special Radwood exhibit, proving Millennials have fully infiltrated all proper automotive spaces:
THIS POST marks two years since the debut of the Race Day newsletter. It’s really been a labor of love, and my heartfelt thanks to every single one of you for reading, sharing and subscribing. Here’s to two more!
Here’s this week’s top article:
Zines Are Bringing Car Culture Back to Print
THE LAST THING I expected to find at AutoConduct’s hatchback meet (more on that below) was a new favorite magazine. But that’s what they’ve created, with the bite-sized Drive All Things, now on Issue Two, and free to take a numbered copy home.
Print publications and car culture have not exactly lived in harmony in recent years. While the prestige titles still exist, several others from Autoweek to Lowrider and Super Street have gone digital-only.
Print is important. It preserves culture and allows it to grow and spread. The Internet has made this easier, but it’s also made it fleeting. We need the slow burn fostered by print to ensure today’s culture is recognized later in history.
Drive All Things is the latest zine, or mini-magazine, to catch my attention. But it isn’t the first. There’s also The Motoring Journal, a quarterly publication with impressive heft made for members of L.A.’s The Motoring Club. Over in Germany, Sight Magazine produced a quick-hitting newspaper insert they’re calling Below Zero because it focuses on ice racing and drifting in the snow.
I’m also intrigued by Old Speed is Good Speed, a curated Instagram account borrowing elements of traditional magazine layout to create captivating “issues,” one post at a time. Not exactly print, but a unique return to roots.
And of course there’s Hypertrash, the quarterly-ish punk response to glossy mags like Road Rat and 000 Mag. By contrast, Hypertrash openly mocks the idea of accepting ads, rejects labels of any kind and relies on questionable editing standards. It’s a fascinating experiment in never trying to impress anybody. I’m half-sure they cover cars that don’t run more than they cover cars that do.
But that’s the joy of do-it-yourselfers discovering their voice through print. It attracts people who have something to share, and often it’s not something you can find on the traditional magazine rack. Drive All Things, for instance, covers its own AutoConduct meets and highlights random cars from the local scene written by authors with day jobs. And somehow it’s more beautiful than it has any right to be.
I don’t think we’ve seen the last of what zines, or at least underground magazines, can contribute to car culture. But what is certain is that there aren’t enough print outlets left to cover everything. If we want to preserve this moment in automotive history — good and bad, pretty and ugly, from all angles — we’re going to have to do it ourselves.
WANT to see more of my writing on cars? Click the link below to buy a signed copy of my book, Slow Car Fast. New for 2021 is our latest title, a digital-only republishing of the motorsports classic The Stainless Steel Carrot with bookmarks signed by author Sylvia Wilkinson and driver John Morton too!
Culture
AN EX-HOT WHEELS designer launches his own line of hyper-realistic diecast models called Kaido House. Really enjoyed this piece.
FRIEND OF THE NEWSLETTER Toni Scott penned a love letter to the Honda Lady, a 1-of-1 unicorn car that was nearly lost forever.
NOW THAT the Safari Jetta exists, I think it’s safe to say we’ve officially safari’ed everything:
SHOUT OUT to The Drive for its continued coverage of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. This week came a touching profile on Sung Kang, the actor who played Han in the Fast & Furious franchise. Hell of a read.
GREAT TO SEE women’s driving events coming back strong. The orgs Accelerating Change and Girls With Drive host a track day in New York this weekend.
Video Reel
SURE, we all love that Volvo entered their station wagons in professional racing back in the day. But this 1994 video shows the drivers were less than thrilled.
ONE OF THE CHAPTERS in my book talks about Joey Seely and his talent for tuning Porsche 911s, but this Matt Farah video for Hagerty shows Seely knows his way around an off-road Cayenne, too.
JAPANESE RICE SNACKS as rotary engines. Why? Who cares.
Ask A Millennial! Julian Angeles, 17
AT THE AUTOCONDUCT meet for hatchbacks earlier this month, there was an embarassing assortment of awesome cars to ogle. But I kept coming back to one — a bright purple 1981 Toyota Starlet with a roof rack and a roll cage. Stanced. Fender flares. Watanabe-style wheels. Just a totally clutch package. Even better was meeting the car’s 17-year old owner, Julian, a passionate enthusiast who loves working on the car and brings it out often for people to enjoy. I’m certainly glad he did on that day. Without further ado, here is an edited version of our conversation:
What is most special about the Starlet to me is the wild paint color. Some people either hate it or love it. I thought it would’ve been a great idea to let the car pop in different lighting and overall it looks great rolling.
I notice a lot of young people slowly getting into the car scene but more so into this “takeover” nonsense. [Ed. note: Takeovers are defined by stunt driving in intersections, and they’re often dangerous.] Sometimes they get into cars by watching Initial D — praising the AE86 and FD and other amazing cars in the series. The best way to find other young enthusiasts are at my local car meets. They spectate or bring their cars or some boba.
The hatchback meet was pretty dope. It was such a great mix of cars. I personally like the general car meets where all are welcome. There’s usually a great variety and quality builds. One of my favorite spots is at Bells & Vaughn where there’s always something cool or different to be seen.
And Finally…
WE ALL DESERVE this commemorative 2020 sticker:
Drive hard and be safe. Black Lives Matter.
Want your event included? Shoot me a note with subject line “Race Day” at ryan@carrarabooks.com.
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