I'm A Car Guy

[Ryan]

A few years ago, I was having early morning coffee with Steve Coonan on South Congress street in Austin, Texas. He was staying a few days after the Round Up for a little "r & r" and I was still in town doing job interviews. I saw it as an opportuni...

To read the rest of this blog entry from The Jalopy Journal, click here.

[Just Gary]

I agree with Ryan's and will add two more:

5. Gray Baskerville- Hot Rod and R&C magazines (although I'm told he wasn't much of a mechanic).

6. Peter Egan- Road & Track and Cycle World magazines and several books.

[oldandkrusty]

A great list for sure! I would like to add Dave Freiburger to it. He resurrected Hot Rod and is a real gearhead to boot.

Also, I think that A. B. Shuman should be on the list.

Last, I would add Gordon Elliott White. His compilations on the Offy and Miller stuff is fantastic. Whether or not he is much of a mechanic, I have no idea, but he sure knows his old racing stuff. So I would like to include him.

[Gotgas]

David Frieberger (sp?) is right up there, for me.

[Chili Phil]

I'll play along too, if ya don't mind:
7. LeRoi "Tex" Smith- One of the first to make tech articles less dry and more fun to read.
8. Chris Martin- My personal favorite drag racing reporter.
9. Cole Coonce- Keeping Hunter S. Thompson's Gonzo style alive and vibrant.
10 Pete Millar- Along with Tom Hunnecutt, put the concept of the graphic novel (read: Car Toons) smack into the gearhead realm.

[tootallrodder]

I want to add a second vote for A.B. Shuman.

[Casey]

don`t forget, Heny Gregor Felsen .

[eddie1]

I have to agree with Just Gary with the addition of Peter Egan. My wife is an avid reader who has no interest in anything else within the pages of Road & Track reads Peter Egans's column every month just to experience his talent.

[thecarfarmer]

X2 for Peter Egan; I'll add Rowan Atkinson (yeah, the 'Blackadder' guy) - he's a really funny writer. -bill

[loudpedal]

Originally Posted by Ryan

...His seemingly low budget series of books covering the early days of hot rodding literally pushed the quick release Momo steering wheels out of my hands and thrust a Bell 4-spoke into them...

Dude, if you won't call yourself a writer as well as a car guy then how about 'wordsmith'?

You've got it too.

[54BOMB]

I thought the early Custom Rodder magazines were great, I had been reading a lot of Hot Rod and Car Craft through high school and then I fliped through a copy of C-R at the store saw a whole new side of things, and that issue also had a quick picture of my favorite band Rancid ( why? I dont remember ) and I soon realized there was a whole 'nuther side to the old car hobby than just muscle cars.

[buford36]

I liked Bill Burmham. Thought his writings were humorous and right on...

[SinisterCustom]

Brock Yates

[oaktree]

Being a writer myself, I can attest that writing well is harder work than digging a ditch with a dull shovel. It is a constant effort in self improvement. It is the ability "to kill puppies". This quote can from a guy who is a great writer but known best for his work in acting, Tommy Lee Jones. Writing is making something concrete out of nothing but what comes from the mind. I think Ryan has done a great job on the Journal and eagerly await the books that will come in the future. I realize this post is quite prejudiced, but feel that I can say this for I am Ryan's Poppa.

[Gerg]

I hope this means Ryan isn't going to punk out on us and stop writing lol

I read JJ front page normally as soon as it comes out. so i would say you are a writer also

[Weaverville Studios]

Ryan, as usual I agree with your thoughts. One of the things that drives me nuts is that as someone who works in the Car Industry here in Detroit is that so many writers today barely know anything about cars...you can spot them real easy...they're the ones that parrot the OEM's press releases and rarely deviate from the script, thus the term 'buff mags' as they have become experts at buffing and shining the BS that frequently comes their way from the marketing and advertising departments and calling it 'journalism'.
Maybe it's not exactly HAMB material as some of these are sporty-car mags, but I've always felt that through the 70's and 80's many car magazines had good writers that were real car guys....Peter Egan, Brock Yates, Chris Economacki (Nat'l Speed Sport News) Wally Parks (ran Hot Rod mag, remember?), Pat Bedard (raced the Indy500), Don Sherman (drove at Bonneville), PJ O'Rourke, Rob Walker (owned an F1 team), Paul Frere (raced F1),Joe Scalzo, Joe Rusz, Gray Baskerville, Tex Smith, CJ Baker, Caroll Smith, Smokey Yunick, and I'm sure I'm forgetting a whole bunch, but I do lament the 'good old days' when the print mags were as provocative as the Web is today...before they all seemingly became 'buff mags' and sold their editorial souls for advertising dollars.
As for today, you'll find most of the car guys who can write are on the Web...one of my favorites to read weekly to follow my industry is Peter Delorenzo of autoextremist.com...cutting edge news with great commentary. Car guys that can write well are still out there but there's usually an inverse relationship of honesty versus advertising revenue.

[sutliff fire]

This gives me a great list to pursue.
Thanks

[Kerry]

Steve Hendrickson and definitely Frieburger.

[63fdsnr]

Agree with the list and Peter Egan, plus Pete Lyon and Henry Manny.
This will be another great thread.

[Chili Phil]

This will be a great thread to keep tabs on.
There's a guy who goes by the handle of Wrenchski who's always pretty fun to read. In fact anyone associated with the KerosineBomb bunch is worthwhile...