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The SHELBY AMERICAN
Bye Bye, R&T. Can’t say as
we’re surprised, but we’ve learned
that
Road & Track
is closing its ed-
itorial offices in Ann Arbor, Michi-
gan and moving everything to New
York City, to be run by their digital
team. This is the first step in put-
ting the magazine, an automotive
institution since 1947, out to pas-
ture. It was bought and sold sev-
eral times since John Bond
established the editorial offices in
Newport Beach, California in 1952.
As long time readers – since the
early 1960s when sports cars and
racing formed the epicenter of our
world – we noted that each time
there was a change of ownership,
the result was a diminishment of
what we had come to know and
enjoy as the “other” car magazine.
Car and Driver
was our favorite
but
R&T
ran a close second and
while there was often some edito-
rial overlap, each offered things the
other did not.
R&T
made us feel
closer to sports car racing, embod-
ied by Formula 1 in Europe and in-
ternational endurance racing –
namely LeMans but also Daytona
and Sebring.
So when it was announced in
1972 that Bond sold the magazine
to CBS we were left to wonder if
the cold, calculating “business”
types would be overseeing the
warm, happy enthusiasts. Of
course, they would (just follow the
money). But it got worse because
fairly quickly both magazines were
swallowed up by Hachette Filipacci
Media. How could
that
possibly be?
They were supposed to be competi-
tors. Could Macy’s and Gimbels be
housed under the same roof?
In the 1990s there was a move to
put R&T on AOL and, looking
back, that was probably the begin-
ning of the end. At that time AOL
didn’t mean anything to us. It was
just another way to present edito-
rial content but it wasn’t anything
that interested us. Whatever it
was, it would never replace a
printed magazine.
Spring 2019 7
NOT SO MUCH THE WHAT, BUT WHERE
AUTOZONE CHRISTMAS WISHES
Tom Dankel of Hollister, California has sent us a fair number of eagle eye sight-
ings over the years, all of interest but some more remarkable than others. This
one struck us as especially fascinating because of the circumstances surround-
ing it. He was in Toronto, Canada recently, shopping with his wife and daugh-
ter. They went into a woman’s store called Wilfred, located in Eaton Centre –
the downtown area’s main shopping mall. The store had lounge chairs next to
the changing rooms, likely placed there for males to relax while the females
attended to whatever it is they attend to in changing rooms. After settling in
for what typically can be a lengthy wait, Dankel looked up and was surprised
to see this picture of a Gulf Heritage Ford GT in an elaborate man cave hanging
on the wall. He immediately surveyed the rest of the store looking for other
treasures but this was the only automotive item in the store. Unless you went
into the changing room seating area, it was completely hidden from view.
When Jeff Burgy sent us
this photo of a Christ-
mas card from Auto-
zone, all we could think
of was, how many parts
does this guy buy to put
him on his local Auto-
zone’s “A” list? Turns
out he spotted it taped
to a window at the local
Autozone’s tire shop. No
matter – first time we’ve
seen this card. We’re
sure 1967 Shelby fans
will love it.