Stéphane Dumas (2024) recently commented that “it would have been a shock if a car from the 1980s” was on the cover of Collectible Automobile magazine. The newest model he could remember was a 1975 Chevrolet Caprice Classic in the December 2005 issue.
I hadn’t thought about that before so decided to take a look at the last 50 Collectible Automobile issues. Since the magazine publishes six times each year, that goes back eight years to August 2016. That time period covers the final years of Editor-in-Chief John Biel and his successor, Don Sikora II.
The second half of the 1950s had the most covers
The newest car put on the cover was a 1971 Mercury Cougar. That means there were no cars shown from the 1980s and 1990s despite a variety of articles about them in the magazine. Meanwhile, there were only seven cars from the second half of the 1960s, with two each from 1968 and 1969.
The era that received the least attention was the first half of the 1960s, where only five cars were highlighted — and there were none from 1962-64. Again, this is despite the magazine running a variety of stories on cars from this period.
The single most popular era was the second half of the 1950s, which had 14 photographs — twice as many as a decade later. The years 1956 and 1958 had four covers each. I find it striking that Collectible Automobile has given particular attention to 1958, which is arguably the all-time-worst year for American cars.
The first half of the 1950s had the second-largest number of covers at 10. However, only two years — 1952 and 1954 — had two photos each.
Cars from before World War II were on 13 covers, but they sprawled across the greatest number of years. The most popular year was 1939, which had three covers. The following years had two covers each: 1935, 1938 and 1941. The oldest car featured on a cover was a 1929 Chrysler.
Some automakers were given more prominence
General Motors had the most number of cover photos at 17 — which was 34 percent of the total. That sounds about right, but Chrysler had the second highest number at 12, whereas Ford had only nine even though it was the bigger automaker.
On the other hand, the Ford brand had six covers (not including a Shelby GT). This was one more cover photo than Cadillac or Plymouth, two more than the Chrysler brand or Pontiac, and three more than Chevrolet or Dodge.
Also see ‘Collectible Automobile puffs up the 1971-74 AMC Javelin’
American Motors had a grand total of one cover — a 1955 Hudson — even though it was the largest and longest-lasting independent automaker. This stood in contrast to Packard, which had three. Nash, Studebaker, Tucker and Willys Aero each got one cover.
Foreign automakers fared even worse over the last eight years. Alfa Romeo, Aston Martin and Lea-Francis were the only lucky brands. In addition, there were none after 1961 despite the remarkable rise of import sales beginning in the second half of the 1960s.
What does this say about the magazine’s biases?
We should start by acknowledging that there may have been technical reasons why a car discussed in a given Collectible Automobile issue wasn’t put on the cover. For example, perhaps there were no photographs that fit the vertical format and had the right background for headlines to be easily read.
That said, it’s one thing if Collectible Automobile didn’t choose to put a 1980 Oldsmobile Toronado on its October 2024 cover and quite something else that the magazine never put any 1980s car on its cover over eight years. I don’t see how such a consistent pattern could be blamed on technical issues.
Also see ‘Why Collectible Automobile reflects a systems problem in auto history field’
Maybe the magazine’s editorial biases reflect long experience with the kind of cars that have generated the greatest newsstand sales. This is presumably an important consideration given that, unlike most car magazines, Collectible Automobile doesn’t bring in revenue from advertising.
Magazines need to do what they need to do to survive. At the same time, one might wonder whether Collectible Automobile has fallen into a rut. For example, maybe putting a few newer cars on its cover might bring in younger readers.
Share your reactions to this post with a comment below or a note to the editor.
RE:SOURCES
- Dumas, Stéphane; 2024. Comment in “Reader insists that the 1971 Mercury Cougar ‘wasn’t ugly at all’.” Indie Auto. Posted on Sept. 14 at 3:54 pm.
The collectible automobile marketplace is changing. The baby boomers (Disclaimer, I am one) seem to be interested in cars from the mid-late 1950’s through the early 1970’s. I drive a 1964 Studebaker Daytona and my Daytona gets little, if any love or respect nowadays. Also, it seems that cars from the early 50’s and earlier are falling out of favor with collectors overall.
In general, it seems that old muscle cars are no longer the draw they once were. Instead, the current generation gravitates toward Japanese and European sports cars, such as ‘Z’ cars or the Mercedes Benz 230/250/280SL cars. Old IH scouts and Jeeps are also hot commodities.
Your Lark and mine are love/respect outliers at shows l think because most folks don’t know anything about them – and would rather not ask “amateur” questions about them and look lost/ignorant.
Curious conversationalists are too few and far between,unfortunately, and many of the public would, perhaps understandably, rather impart their old car knowledge to their son/significant “other” while talking about the 2009 Mustang/Camaro/Challenger two cars to the left.
The good news is (do you also find this is true?) that women seem more “attracted” to Studebakers at a show than men (perhaps explained by my second paragraph)?
My ’53 Starlight Coupe is a veritable “chick magnet”!!(But l already have the best chick in the world!)
The car collector hobby is facing generational shifts, that’s for sure. People from my dad’s generation liked Model As and 30s roadsters because those were the used cars they fixed up when they were young… or the tri-five Chevys that were new cars that people wanted. I am sixty, and though I like reading about all old cars, the cars we wanted in our younger years were imports. I always read and subscribed to the Hemmings magazines, first Specially Interest Auto and then Hemmings Classic Car and Hemmings Import and Exotic Car. When they discontinued the import magazine, supposedly the publisher vowed to include the imports in the Classic Car magazine. After a while it was maybe one or two articles out of the entire magazine. I just let my subscription lapse after decades of readership. I think we get nostalgic for the cars we saw around us growing up and the cars we aspired to as a young driver.
For Nash, there was a 1953 Nash Rambler on the April 2000 issue of Collectible Automobile who also featured articles on the 1949-52 Plymouth and the ill-fated Chevrolet Vega.
Still, I woudn’t mind to see a Buick Grand National, a Fox-body Mustang, Aero Cougar or “Aerobird”, a Dodge Viper, 1979-85 Eldorado/Toronado/Riviera on the cover of Collectible Automobile and some imports did the cover of CA like the Fiat 8V on the April 2013 issue. https://zupimages.net/viewer.php?id=24/38/gv6u.jpg
a Jaguar XK140 on the October 2014 issue, a 1947 Triumph 1800 roadster in the April 2008(?) issue https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/PlUAAOSw~FFgSvBX/s-l1200.jpg a 1956 Maserati in the August 2014 issue and a 1958 VW Karmann-Ghia on the April 1996 issue.
https://www.amazon.com/Collectible-Automobile-Magazine-April-1996/dp/B08XN27SKP
I’ve been getting CA since 1987. I remember the old days when some of the cars they write about now were new cars, lauded by the writers as future classics.
I’m always a bit disappointed when the cover car is a short photo feature and not one of the main articles, especially when it’s a photo I remember seeing in a feature from years earlier.
Now then you mention it, a 1950 Plymouth “woody”(woodie?) wagon was on the cover of the February 2023 issue while that Plymouth wagon was covered in the April 2000 issue on the 1949-52 Plymouth article. https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/Oj4AAOSwiWNkWBym/s-l1600.jpg
Why not contact the editors of CA and ask them what factors go into their cover selection? The worst they could do would be to ignore you or say they don’t wish to discuss it, but they might be willing to discuss the editorial considerations involved.
My undergraduate major was journalism and my first jobs primarily involved reporting, so I get how that process works. I created Indie Auto as a weekend warrior project so have kept the focus on opinion writing rather than original reporting. At this point my inclination is to leave the latter niche to others.
I know your time and resources are limited, and I appreciate the follow-up of a question on “Collectible Automobile”, but in the 1984 year there were covers and articles of the 1955 white Dick Teague-designed Packard “Request” show car and a red 1957 Ford Thunderbird, among others. I remember in the late 1980s, there was a cover feature of a 1953 Oldsmobile Fiesta. Although I have only written the editor of “C.A.” once requesting more photographs of chassis details referred to in the articles’ text, John Biel wrote back that like “Indie Auto”, it was car and truck styling that sold magazines and subscriptions. Owning every issue of this publication and a subscriber since 1984, in my opinion, the photographs (and the models) that make the “C.A.” cover are the photos that are almost always perfect restorations or preservations, rarely daily drivers. I think only once was a vehicle (1958 Buick Estate Wagon restoration) was a “Hemmings Classic Car” cover repeated by “Collectible Automobile”!
Yes, me too. EVERY issue of “CA”.
My heart did a flip (good thing) when the December 2024 issue showed up with the ’53 Studebaker Commander Deluxe Starlight Coupe in Chippewa Green on the cover.
In our garage is a similar ’53 Champion Regal (higher trim) Starlight, tu-toned with Chippewa on top, but the darker Lombard Green on the bottom.