With any luck, you've noticed the new look of KIT CAR. But if you dig a little deeper, we hope you'll notice something even larger-a whole new direction. So this is not just a cosmetic change, but rather an overhaul of what KIT CAR will mean to its readers in the future.
KIT CAR has meant a lot of different things to many people over the years. It has had its ups and downs and, of late, really needed to be addressed. The Automotive Enthusiast Group is the West Coast-based automotive publishing branch of Primedia (KIT CAR's parent company) and, besides KIT CAR, publishes 50 or so other automotive publications (such as Hot Rod, Super Chevy, Street Rodder, Lowrider, Truckin, Rod & Custom, Popular Hot Rodding, Vette, Four Wheeler, and Car Craft to name but just a few). After examining KIT CAR, it was determined that it needed to change course. The result is a new editor and staff as well as the new look.
But simply changing the look won't help what was wrong with KIT CAR. KIT CAR needs its readers as well as its advertisers, and we're changing the way we've done business in the past so the magazine can become what it should be: a source for all of the information pertaining to the kit and replicar hobby.
Cars featured in this magazine will be based solely on the merits of the car's design and execution. Car owners have invested a lot of time and money into their rides-they should have a publication that will present their pride and joys in the best possible light with the best photography possible, and they should be proud to have their vehicles featured in KIT CAR. We'll be visiting as many manufacturers as we can, highlighting them in shop tours, and showing our readers who they are and what they have to offer so the next time readers see their ads, they'll know who we're talking about. We've already started working on a series of hands-on, build-up articles on several kits-the result of which you'll be seeing in the months to come.
One of the best new ideas for the magazine debuts in this issue: the Kit Car Challenge. It's an on-track testing program that we conduct by taking a replicar and putting it through its paces. We'll check its acceleration in the quarter mile, check braking with a 60-to-0 times, determine g-force numbers on a 200-foot skid pad, plus run it through a 420-foot slalom course. We'll also check its weight (getting front to rear bias ratios, too), and then hook the car up to our chassis dyno and see what kind of horsepower can be generated at the rear wheel. All real-world numbers you can compare your vehicle to, as well as be able to compare different company's products based solely on cold, hard numbers. We'll also be taking base line numbers from an entry-level kit, adding performance products to it, and seeing how the numbers change.
KIT CAR can't be all things to all people, but we can do a better job than we've done in the past at providing its readership the information they need to make informed decisions. The magazine has been around for many years, and we hope that, with some added input from its readers, we will continue to move in the right direction.
Traditionally when a new editor comes aboard, they will give some background on how they got there. My time with our publishing company goes back to 1985, when I was hired into VW Trends, our air-cooled VW-based book. I've had 14 or so Volkswagens over the years (from splits to Ghias) and still think they're great cars (even though I believe they stopped making them in 1968-and hardcore VW people know what I mean). I joined the staff at Street Rodder magazine in 1991 and, for the last 13 years, was its photo editor. Over the years I've photographed roughly 220 magazine covers for the company, not to mention posters, catalogs, and some newspaper work.