About two weeks ago, I did something that many of my colleagues (and likely some of you) have done over the past few years: I tossed out over a decade's worth of buff books. There were plenty of reasons for the mass trashing of countless copies of random car mags – namely an apartment redesign – but the primary reason they met their demise at the bottom of an overstuffed recycle bin was simply because I just don't read them as much as I used to. Time and these, the great interwebs have conspired against them, and until someone produces a high-quality, high-gloss magazine to rival the likes of Car and EVO (without the overseas charges), I'm just not willing to expel the time, effort and expense to allow them to amass under my coffee table, unread and neglected.
So earlier this year, when I caught wind of a new magazine due out in August, I approached it with a little trepidation – until we received a tip from its editor. One line in the short email stuck out with me, just because it was so true: "Do you even read car magazines anymore?" The answer for me was, "barely." So I checked out the website, read over some of the features and visited semi-frequently. After a few trips back and forth, I thought I'd bite the bullet and subscribe, if for no other reason than because I'd let nearly all the others lapse. So when I got the mail last Saturday, I was greeted with a heavy envelope that was promptly torn open to reveal the inaugural issue of 0-60. Could this be what I was waiting for? Could this be the Stateside EVO that I'd always dreamed of? Could it possibly live up to the lofty ideals I'd set for it? The short answers are: Yes, maybe, and that's probably not possible.
The premier issue, at just over 122 pages thick, is chock-full of gearhead delicacies that would likely appeal to anyone reading these words. Sure, it's got some of the staples of any mainstream buff book: a duo of detailed car reviews, a breakdown of the new LS3 and a number of other quick-and-dirty features (one-page drives of stock and tuned rides, an NSX buying guide, etc.), but it's the diversity that struck me. A two-page rundown on how an LSD works, Alex Roy's go-go-gadget M5, why the Cosworth Vega failed miserably, a brief bio of a Washington D.C. tuner (plus single-page features on Brabus, Novitec Rosso and Ruf), and on, and on, and on. But the coup de grace came in the form of 0-60 editor-in-chief, Brian Scotto's time with Colin McRae, which included consuming copious quantities of alcohol with the gravel god, crashing at his villa and then watching him tear up the track in his masterpiece, the R4. Living vicariously though other people's lives never felt so good.
The photography, styling and layout is all above average, although we have little doubt that it will get exponentially better, and the writers tasked with creating this new issue include some friends, some acquaintances and a few others that we'd gladly share our favorite micro-brew with – all of whom are automotive cognoscenti of the highest order.
0-60 is poised to be all things to auto-obsessives like us, and its debut issue is the physical manifestation of true pistonhead passion. Plus, Mr. Scotto won our affections right out of the gate with his editorial salvo pointing out one major difference between 0-60 and "The Big Four." "We are quite aware of the Internet and we embrace it for what it's best at: immediacy." That kind of perspective from the outset, combined with all the right ingredients listed above, is what will make 0-60 a success. We wish the whole 0-60 crew the best of luck, but for purely selfish reasons -- we finally want to enjoy a good car magazine again.
So earlier this year, when I caught wind of a new magazine due out in August, I approached it with a little trepidation – until we received a tip from its editor. One line in the short email stuck out with me, just because it was so true: "Do you even read car magazines anymore?" The answer for me was, "barely." So I checked out the website, read over some of the features and visited semi-frequently. After a few trips back and forth, I thought I'd bite the bullet and subscribe, if for no other reason than because I'd let nearly all the others lapse. So when I got the mail last Saturday, I was greeted with a heavy envelope that was promptly torn open to reveal the inaugural issue of 0-60. Could this be what I was waiting for? Could this be the Stateside EVO that I'd always dreamed of? Could it possibly live up to the lofty ideals I'd set for it? The short answers are: Yes, maybe, and that's probably not possible.
The premier issue, at just over 122 pages thick, is chock-full of gearhead delicacies that would likely appeal to anyone reading these words. Sure, it's got some of the staples of any mainstream buff book: a duo of detailed car reviews, a breakdown of the new LS3 and a number of other quick-and-dirty features (one-page drives of stock and tuned rides, an NSX buying guide, etc.), but it's the diversity that struck me. A two-page rundown on how an LSD works, Alex Roy's go-go-gadget M5, why the Cosworth Vega failed miserably, a brief bio of a Washington D.C. tuner (plus single-page features on Brabus, Novitec Rosso and Ruf), and on, and on, and on. But the coup de grace came in the form of 0-60 editor-in-chief, Brian Scotto's time with Colin McRae, which included consuming copious quantities of alcohol with the gravel god, crashing at his villa and then watching him tear up the track in his masterpiece, the R4. Living vicariously though other people's lives never felt so good.
The photography, styling and layout is all above average, although we have little doubt that it will get exponentially better, and the writers tasked with creating this new issue include some friends, some acquaintances and a few others that we'd gladly share our favorite micro-brew with – all of whom are automotive cognoscenti of the highest order.
0-60 is poised to be all things to auto-obsessives like us, and its debut issue is the physical manifestation of true pistonhead passion. Plus, Mr. Scotto won our affections right out of the gate with his editorial salvo pointing out one major difference between 0-60 and "The Big Four." "We are quite aware of the Internet and we embrace it for what it's best at: immediacy." That kind of perspective from the outset, combined with all the right ingredients listed above, is what will make 0-60 a success. We wish the whole 0-60 crew the best of luck, but for purely selfish reasons -- we finally want to enjoy a good car magazine again.
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