OK, wiseass, so you need some space to vent. Here it is. Direct letters to the editor to sccnews@sourceinterlink.com and we'll do our best to come up with a snide response. Or completely ignore you. But hey, at least you've got a voice.
Free Stuff!
This month, we're sticking it to Stanky McMoneybads with a set of automotive guide books from Hyper Rev. Each platform-specific Hyper Rev volume is filled with parts and tuning information, and is dedicated to such models as the WRX, 350Z, RX-7, Civic and GT-R. For more info and to see if they have one for your car, visit www.more-japan.com. To follow in Arron's footsteps, send us your feedback to sccnews@sourceinterlink.com, or to Sport Compact Car - Inbox, 2400 E. Katella Ave. - 11th Floor, Anaheim, CA, 92806.
Letter Of The Month
I've always liked cars and knew how to change my own oil and such, but it wasn't until recently that I fell in love with them. Of all the cars I've owned, not one had broken the $1800 barrier until recently. I bought a Mazdaspeed3.
After the initial 'wow, neat' phase, something became incredibly clear. For all the money I was laying down every month for magazines, I wasn't getting a lot of information. Ninety-nine percent of what I learned came from online. And you can't take much of that to heart, as every 18-year-old with a Civic knows the 'right way to do it.'
I imagine the toughest part for a journalist is coming up with a way to make every aftermarket piece sound like it will cause lightning to shoot out of the exhaust, all while making it sound different from the other lightning-shooting stuff on the next page. There is no comparison in regard to the same parts from different companies. No real insightful articles to help us better understand trannies, different engines, suspensions, or driving. Just "this is what caster is." Wow. Thanks. I've got Google too.
Then there are the cars. Anyone with a pulse and an internet connection can show you what a car with an assload of money thrown at it can look like, most of which never had a bolt turned by the owner.
I was about to give up reading hard copy stuff until I found yours today. I read it cover to cover and was blown away (May 2008 issue). The 240SX shootout? Awesome. There's stuff that sucks and stuff that doesn't, but it seems you're the only ones who want to take the first step. Skylines with chipped-up front lips? Bring it. I don't give two craps that Stanky McMoneybads has a 500bhp 350Z that has never seen a street, or that he paid someone $50,000 to build it for him. Show me the guy in the beat-up Subie he bought second-hand, worked long and hard for, did the work himself and is running 11s, because his car is cooler.
SrA Arron Jenkins
USAF
We try to stay close to our focus of making cars go faster without a monstrous outlay of cash because, simply, we want to be quick without being broke. Our cover story this month is the perfect example. Whether it's the SOHC Civic taking out the WRX or the bolt-on-equipped Evo taking out the $90k Viper, we'll be there to cover it. And if there's any feedback you, the reader, would like to provide, let us know. Your voice always helps in putting together a better magazine. Even Stanky McMoneybads would approve of that. -JL
Glimpses Of Hope
On April 27, driving toward Glendale, California, on the 210 freeway, my friend's family and I were obliterated by Project SRT-4. Whoever was driving the car that day drove like the ass I figured every SCC employee did. I'm impressed. I was able to spot that orange paint from a great distance after it blew by. Maybe when you painted the car that color you failed to remember the cops who will always be there to spoil the fun.
PS. My uncle used to race Sam Hubinette in the Viper Racing League before he became a top drifter.
Adam Vigil
via e-mail