Car & Driver (October Issue)
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Instructor
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 166
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From: Northern Louisiana
Car & Driver (October Issue)
Does anybody really pay attention to these articles, are the comparisons really fair for the cars they choose and do they really mean anything for the average daily driver.Do Porsche enthusiast read Excellence more, I was just wondering what is the Best Magazine to susbcribe to. I already have European Car & Panorama, any suggestions. Thanks
Drifting
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 3,042
Likes: 84
From: Chesapeake, VA
One big issue I have with C&D reviews is that they insist on using stock tire pressures and street alignments, which gives Porsches terrible understeer (and that performance-minded drivers immediately change) and are a poor indication of real performance of these cars. I know why they do it, but when they do track tests, I'd much rather see them do reviews with tires/pressures/alignment to show what these cars are actually capable of on the track. Same with the cars they stack up against- I mean, we're familiar enough with Porsche to know where C&D is giving them a bum rap, but what about all the other cars? I have no idea what tweaks would take a few seconds off a 2011 Camaro SS's track time and show that it really is better/worse than a 2011 Mustang GT, etc.
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 166
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From: Northern Louisiana
Which Years
Thanks sjfehr, sounds like you know a little bit about this. Marc I know you know your stuff,I have been looking at some older Porsches & am thinking about doing the same thing like you have with the older & newer versions, but I cannot decide what or which version i want. Do you have any suggestions of what might be the best years or worst years (or should i say not as good years) i know its personal preference but could you give me some pointers about some of the earlier models you like or don't & what to look out for, i've done a good bit of reading but its just really hard on deciding which is better. And i'm talking about going up to the 98 model 993's are suppose to be the best of those 3 years aren't they. Thanks for anyones input.
Addict
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Joined: May 2001
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From: Cary NC
I am not a huge fan of Excellence, they've hyped quite a bit of information, and have been inaccurate as well. Best thing you can do is not take anything you read as truth, regardless of the medium, in my opinion. 911&Porsche world is a good one, Panorama is not bad either. Different flavors...
Drifting
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 2,636
Likes: 16
From: Apex, NC
Everything with a grain of salt...
My strategy after years of car magazines:
Excellence - (subscribe) Great photos, interesting and unique car profiles, Porsche valuation (not spot on but fun to peruse each month).
Road and Track - (subscribe) If nothing but for Peter Egan. Hands down still the best automobile writer working. And it is the best of the mass-consumer car magazines.
Panorama - (comes with PCA membership) Not a great magazine, not even particularly good. However, Michael Cotton's motor racing column is always good and there is an occasional interesting history feature. Some of the tech stuff is very good.
Occasionally I'll buy C&D or Automobile at the grocery store. Not particularly good, but sometimes interesting. I used to subscribe to AutoWeek, back when it was weekly, and good.
Supplement all of this with the web. A few of my favorites:
My strategy after years of car magazines:
Excellence - (subscribe) Great photos, interesting and unique car profiles, Porsche valuation (not spot on but fun to peruse each month).
Road and Track - (subscribe) If nothing but for Peter Egan. Hands down still the best automobile writer working. And it is the best of the mass-consumer car magazines.
Panorama - (comes with PCA membership) Not a great magazine, not even particularly good. However, Michael Cotton's motor racing column is always good and there is an occasional interesting history feature. Some of the tech stuff is very good.
Occasionally I'll buy C&D or Automobile at the grocery store. Not particularly good, but sometimes interesting. I used to subscribe to AutoWeek, back when it was weekly, and good.
Supplement all of this with the web. A few of my favorites:
- Dan Neil weekly in the Wall Street Journal - Well written reviews
- The Truth About Cars - Good for snarky industry news
- Jalopnik - Just plain fun
Three Wheelin'
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 1,894
Likes: 11
From: near Seattle
+1
I found Motor Trend has insulting and juvenile comments. Car and Driver articles just drone on -- they seem to enjoy themselves talking. Road and Track seems to get to the point and (for the most part) sports a reasonable point of view. I used to read Autoweek as a newspaper; haven't read it in a long time.
For me -- Excellence; Road and Track & Panorama. Panorama is the weakest -- but comes with membership....so, ok.
(So many of the reviews & comparisons are redundant across publications, you don't need a lot of subscriptions.)
I found Motor Trend has insulting and juvenile comments. Car and Driver articles just drone on -- they seem to enjoy themselves talking. Road and Track seems to get to the point and (for the most part) sports a reasonable point of view. I used to read Autoweek as a newspaper; haven't read it in a long time.
For me -- Excellence; Road and Track & Panorama. Panorama is the weakest -- but comes with membership....so, ok.
(So many of the reviews & comparisons are redundant across publications, you don't need a lot of subscriptions.)
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Drifting
Joined: Aug 2006
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I am not a huge fan of Excellence, they've hyped quite a bit of information, and have been inaccurate as well. Best thing you can do is not take anything you read as truth, regardless of the medium, in my opinion. 911&Porsche world is a good one, Panorama is not bad either. Different flavors...
Three Wheelin'
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 1,288
Likes: 13
From: Jacksonville, FL
Excellence
Panorama (comes with being a PCA member)
356 Registry (comes with being a member)
Autoweek (now Auto(bi-)week(ly) (for all my other automotive interests)
There are three British magazines (all can be found in the car magazine section at Barnes & Noble), all very good, each good in its own unique way, all largely repetitive of each other, and often lacking in relevance to American readers and North American Porsche models. But if you like to read about cars with the steering wheel on the right side and you keep a spanner in your bonnet, then these are for you. I have read and enjoyed them all. Even subscribed. But in the end, they really don't add much to the articles and ads in Excellence. Their advertisers are mostly British companies.
Panorama (comes with being a PCA member)
356 Registry (comes with being a member)
Autoweek (now Auto(bi-)week(ly) (for all my other automotive interests)
There are three British magazines (all can be found in the car magazine section at Barnes & Noble), all very good, each good in its own unique way, all largely repetitive of each other, and often lacking in relevance to American readers and North American Porsche models. But if you like to read about cars with the steering wheel on the right side and you keep a spanner in your bonnet, then these are for you. I have read and enjoyed them all. Even subscribed. But in the end, they really don't add much to the articles and ads in Excellence. Their advertisers are mostly British companies.
Three Wheelin'
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 1,756
Likes: 101
From: Horseshoe Bend, Idaho
Excellence, Total 911, 911 and Porsche World, GT Porsche. All are available at Borders. Total 911 is my personal favorite...the photography is fantastic and they have lots of 996 & 993 content.
Advanced
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 80
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From: Los Angeles
EVO Magazine - the best by far - perhaps the only
I started reading Excellence too recently - looks decent, in particular because it is the only US magazine I have found worth reading.
I have checked other Porsche mags and most are decent except from Total 911, which has a ricer vibe (e.g., chrome bodied 996 Turbo, cheap '73 RS replica, etc...).
Personally, I evaluating a magazine by considering how long it takes me to read it and whether I am skipping lines when I'm reading. That tells me how boring (or not) it is.
Btw Chris Harris who writes for Excellence is also a major guy at EVO with several nice videos at www.evo.co.uk
I started reading Excellence too recently - looks decent, in particular because it is the only US magazine I have found worth reading.
I have checked other Porsche mags and most are decent except from Total 911, which has a ricer vibe (e.g., chrome bodied 996 Turbo, cheap '73 RS replica, etc...).
Personally, I evaluating a magazine by considering how long it takes me to read it and whether I am skipping lines when I'm reading. That tells me how boring (or not) it is.
Btw Chris Harris who writes for Excellence is also a major guy at EVO with several nice videos at www.evo.co.uk
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From: ^ The Bay Bridge
I am not a huge fan of Excellence, they've hyped quite a bit of information, and have been inaccurate as well. Best thing you can do is not take anything you read as truth, regardless of the medium, in my opinion. 911&Porsche world is a good one, Panorama is not bad either. Different flavors...
Again, I'm fine with fair criticism —Strekbut this doesn't look like that.
As for the others, thanks for the support!
pete
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Joined: Jun 2009
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I'm surprised how bad Panorama is. The subject matter weighs heavily into news about the club and the people. I guess this is fair since it's the magazine of the club but I am only interested in the cars. The production value of the magazine is amazingly bad. I know the club is not-for-profit but I would expect a little more from an organization dedicated to Porsches.