Pat Ganahl for sure. Michael Lamm. Griff Borgeson, Ken Purdy, Roger Huntington, William Saroyan (who wrote a fine short story about a WWII soldier who hotrods a Jeep), and oh what the hell Tom McCahill. Ryan, don't sell yourself short. Writing at its heart is communicating, and you seem to have that skillset nailed.
Most all of the above are greats in my book. Another that no one mentioned was Jean Shepard, writing for Car & Driver some years ago. Mostly remembered as the creator/writer of "A Christmas Story"
Fuck that,Ryan!!! I read alot and buy many books and magazines,just to read the editorials and stories,cause i'm obsessed with anything cars. Since joining the HAMB,i've found myself reading your blogs,more and more! It doesn't take more than one sentence to know wether I am gonna be captivated in the text. You...my friend,have got my attention more the a few times. I like how you look and observe things,especially the descriptions of your topic. I can put your name right up there with the before mentioned writers,as my favorite reads. Never sell yourself short. Ones worth is measured by others,NOT by oneself...
Most of the ones I would list have been mentioned but the thread takes me back to an exchange between a hometown girl and myself our freshman year in college. She had started running with a bunch of seudo intellectuals and I was giving her shit about her using five sylable words just for the "oh look at me" value. She said well at least I talk properly, to which I replied, "What the hell difference does that make if no one can understand what your talking ABOUT!" Communication is an art form all its own. BTW Ryan I think you are an excellent communicator. Great thread! GV
Ganahl was at Autorama a few years (last year?) but I missed my chance to meet him. His stewardship of Hot Rod was most memorable to me. His humble style of writing made everything he said seem possible. Of course I found B-ville entertaining in an endearing, corny sort of way. But again, his personality carried through. And at the risk of sounding unoriginal, Friedburger (sic) could make you feel like you were his good buddy rolling shotgun in a Duster cranking out the G 'n R on a humid Saturday Night. Good times. Each one of these fellas communicated in an folksy manner that made you relate and like them and their subjects because they were like you. I can't think of any better ambassador to the hobby of Hot Rodding than a good 'ol normal guy that loves cars and can write. Ryan, you seem like a good ol' normal guy. In any case, these were the guys that inspired me.
My list of influential writers would be Bill Burnham, who actually took the time to write back when I sent letter thanking him for his column. Tex Smith, without his writings I wouldn't have thought I could build a car. Gerry Burger, just for being able to make me laugh as I read. Steve Hendrickson, who was a friend to everyone and a guys guy. And I still miss him.
One of my faves is BS Levy. Like Catcher in the Rye set to race cars in the 50's. Great fiction. Richard Petty put out a great bio in the 70's, just a small fawcett thing, but pick it up for his early adventures with Lee
The late Tom Senter, Don Francisco and Barney Navarro whose writings in Popular Hot Rodding, Hot Rod and Hop Up were examples of car guys who write. I enjoy everyone's listing of great writers. I didn't know I had read and continue to read so many of these guys. I must have read at least one thing from each one. I agree that Ryan should be included. I read his blog first thing before moving on to the HAMB. DW
Richard Petty put out a great bio in the 70's, just a small fawcett thing, but pick it up for his early adventures with Lee[/quote] I didn't know that...I'll look for it....but if you like that, I gotta throw out " They Call Me Mr. 500" by Andy Granatelli....don't try and read it and drink anything because you'll soon find your drink coming up and out of your nose because it's so danged funny...it's one of the funniest, most insightful biographies I've ever read of any discipline. If there was ever a guy who made it big in the automotive world by doing it all his way, it was Andy Granatelli. I highly recommend this book written by a true car guy, Indy legend and hot rod pioneer.
Jim Rizzo Is Great At Getting Dummies (like Me) To See Where He Is Coming From In His Writing, He's Like A Freaky Little Tattooed Tex Smith. In My Humble Opinion David Frieburger Saved Hot Rod Magazine, He Is The Real Deal. Ryan, You Are A Car Guy, And A Great Writer. I Like That You Enjoy This As Much As The Rest Of Us, And That Its Not Just Your Job.
I like coming in on the end of a thread because everything has usually been said. This is no exception and I agree with those names that have been posted. However, due to this thread, I've added a few names that I've never had the pleasure of reading and add them to my birthday and christmas wish list. My wife always likes buying me books and the last few years has added some great ones to my automotive library. Frank
I vote for Peter Egan as my favorite car guy writer, and a tie between Joseph Conrad and Rudyard Kipling as my favorite storytellers. That said, the prime contributors of the HAMB are accomplished authors in their own right and many of the feature articles would be A+ papers at the collegiate level; with very little editorial polish some could be right at home in high-end car, airline or lifestyle mags. The eclectic stuff - art deco designs and aircraft cockpits, and the art of the hood ornament has a far wider appeal than some folks might imagine. This is the first place I drop in, every day. The best part of blogs is there are some truly insightful dudes hitting the keyboards, fleshing out very meaningful responses tying threads into a life of their own. This beats the snot out of trying to decipher the intent of a cryptic letter to the editor three months after an article or comment has been forgotten. Another benefit is the relative anonymity that eliminates performance anxiety. Writing under a "pen name" about a cherished subject is a sight easier than standing in front of Mrs Brown's high school English 2 class delivering "How Little Women Coped With One Thundermug on Cold Nights" or something equally useful to one's future life. Most of us would have rather awakened naked on the sidewalk after a raging drunk. But we all have something to say about cars, and most of it's good. They are, after all, a large part of our egos (and alter-egos) That's why a guy code-named Flathead Bob has no problem telling us about his handcrafted 40 Ford, that's stroked and bored, with four on the floor, each item described in detail with words that are common to all of us. I'm a part time writer of industrial safety and engineering articles, technical and historical columns about MGs and the MG Car Company, and (don't tell mom...) a some-time working singer/songwriter of the common three-piece roadhouse band variety. I don't post many responses here (or anywhere for that matter) but only because the writer in me just can't stop at a two sentence reply and I don't want anyone to think that I'm writing just to write (QED?...)
the way i see it car guys are artist's writers are artist's most artist's are car guy's there for and visa vie you are most likely a writer, and a car guy! and from my experience with this site in my humble opinion you are all 3! there ya go, ego stroked at least one of us got some love before bed
Lots of good ones here, but I gotta go for Gerry Burger from the old "Rodders Digest" for my personal favorite. I have never subscribed to a magazine that I read from inside cover to back cover just to see where he would hide some obscure comment, and you could find them ANYWHERE !! It was always a fun read and he was as "regular guy" as you would ever want to meet.
Smokey I saw he was mentioned already (thanks Weaverville Studios). He was the largest single influence in print for me. Ryan, you are being too hard on yourself.
Amen to adding these guys to the list. How could I have forgotten them??? Especially Bud Bryan. He was at the helm of Rod & Custom for the re-birth of hot rodding/street rodding in the US. His aricles were just so stimulating back in the day. Thanks for reminding me.
Many great names where mentioned already…Ganahl, Burnham, Baskerville are definitely some of my favorites. There is guy named Tony DeFeo that was from Staten Island, NY who wrote for a few of the east coast based muscle car books back in the late eighties, early nineties. He also did a great series on running fuel on beer money years ago. Honest new car reviews, hilarious parody articles, street racing coverage and low buck tech where main stays of those NY based Schneider Publications. Tony is still around, I believe living in Tennessee...He pops up with some thought provoking stuff on various message forums on the net from time to time. Great stuff.
Most of the greats listed here are from an era that did not have the internet, fax machines or computers! When I first started writing for Petersen they had honest-to-God copy editors on the staff of all of the car books. My copy was send via the US mail and backup copies were carbon copies. I maintain the position that writers that had to collect their thoughts and use outlines before sitting down at a typewriter are better writers than the people who use computers! No offense Ryan.
I write for several New Zealand and Australian car mags, and have been doing so for several years. I've also just started the first of three books an NZ publishing company has asked me to write. But I've resigned myself to the fact I'm a car guy who just happens to make part of my income from writing about cars. I realise my shortcomings when I read anything written by the great motoring and motorsport writers, such as Nigel Roebuck or Dennis Jenkinson, who somehow make each sentence flow so perfectly, and tell its own story. Another very successful motoring writer, fellow Kiwi Eoin Young, who was one of the founders of McLaren Motorsport back in the early '60s, once gave me a few tips: 'Make it flow'; 'Spin a yarn'; 'Write the same way you speak'. That has helped me hugely. Although we're not up there with the 'greats', for most of us, enthusiasm and knowledge can go a long way.
I'm really glad Bill Burnham was mentioned. When I was kid I looked at car pictures and that was about it. When I read Bill I learned how fun it was to read about cars. I read his editorials in the Gazette faithfully for a couple years before he passed. There a probably better writers but none I enjoyed more than Bill.
Did you mean to write 'Customer Rodder' Ryan, or was that some kind of Freudian Slip? These days I make some form of a living writing for a few Aussie magazines. For me, growing up reading Aussie, US and even English magazines, the guy that always seemed to be writing the coolest stories was 'Too Tall' Ganahl. Mike Bishop is another that stands out for me, and what Steve Coonan has done with TRJ is truly amazing. I gotta tell ya though, after spending a small fortune and a lot of time reading car magazines growing up, it sure is cool to be able to work for them. The fact that I never threw any of my old magazines away has also come in handy several times. Told you so, Mum!
I agree that Peter Egan is really good and Ken Purdy was great. Burt Levy's books were so good that when I finished the last one I simply picked up the first one and started over because I did not want to leave that wonderful little world he had created. As to that "your either a writer or a car guy" stuff it sounds like the kind of lofty bullshit I used to hear in college drinking sessions. Pay no attention Ryan, just keep writing.
The Jalopy Journal
