For five generations of automotive professionals, Motor Age magazine has been beside them on their journey to success. For many, it was the doorway to a career some hadn’t considered, including a 16-year-old kid who sat reading it while waiting for the next gas customer at a Sinclair station in Swarthmore, Penn. At the time, it was just a part-time job while in high school, and he had no idea that some 33 years later, he’d be the editor-in-chief of that very same magazine when it turned 100. If you haven’t guessed by now, that kid was me.
A quick Google search confirms that Motor Age, which debuted in 1899, is the oldest continuously-published trade magazine in the United States. In addition, it’s the third-oldest continuously published magazine in the U.S. (The oldest is Scientific American, first published in 1845 and the second-oldest is The Nation, which was launched in 1865.)
Motor Age chronicled the growth of the automotive service industry from the beginning through two world wars, the Great Depression and the birth, life and eventual passing into history of several famous automobile manufacturers. The pages often predicted the future, as talented journalists covered the rise of 14 automotive manufacturers producing electric vehicles in 1909. This look ahead was and remains perhaps the most important service to the industry Motor Age provides. It also demonstrated the amazing ability of the independent repair community to adapt and change through such innovations as automatic transmissions, emission control systems and the evolution from purely mechanical systems to computerized engine controls — all in the space of one career.
Motor Age editors were there through the good, the bad and the ugly of automotive design and development. From the rolling works of art that parade on the green at Pebble Beach to the era of the muscle car in the '50s and '60s, Motor Age kept mechanics up to speed on whatever rolled through the bay door. They even predicted and supported the evolution of mechanic into technician in the early '70s with something called the Certified Auto Repair Specialist (C.A.R.S) program that evolved into the Motor Age ASE Study Guides when ASE was born in 1972.
It was my honor and good fortune to have been on the staff of Motor Age through the 1980s and '90s where I had a front-row seat to the explosive growth of automotive technology which accelerated the evolution into the digital world we know today. I was there when the Motor Age website was created and the first online technician communities were born. (Anyone remember CompuServe?) And I remain in awe of how automotive professionals have risen to the challenge of keeping up with the changes by demonstrating a commitment to ongoing training and a dedication to excellence that is unrivaled in any other industry.
We’ve come a long way since September 12, 1899, when the first issue of Motor Age appeared with the tagline “A Weekly Journal of Modern Locomotion.” Though a bit dated, the language still fits the Motor Age mission of bringing the latest technical information to the hands of working technicians and shop owners tasked with the service and repair of what has become a very advanced piece of automotive technology.
Few publications reach the century-and-a-quarter mark. Fewer still can claim to have been there at the birth of the industry they serve and become an iconic brand. But a magazine brand is not just a logo; it’s the value provided to their readers and that value lies in the skills of an ever-changing staff of automotive professionals, each a link in a chain stretching back to that first issue. Sir Isaac Newton said, “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” The countless individuals whose talent, knowledge and insight has been alive in the pages of Motor Age over the years are among those giants of whom Sir Isaac speaks.
Although there have been many companies whose publishing portfolios included Motor Age over the years, all have appreciated the gravity of that stewardship and made sure the value being brought is of the highest quality and technical expertise. That legacy continues today.
Now a new generation is guiding Motor Age in the 21st Century and after meeting some of them and seeing how technology has expanded the channels for providing information beyond the printed page, I know our industry is in good hands. Along the way, Motor Age has been there to help cope with rapidly-advancing automotive technology. Motor Age editors have been there to provide the roadmap, record the journey, and share the ride.
As one who has seen the future through others' eyes, I offer hearty congratulations to the staff and current stewards of Motor Age on the 125th anniversary of the magazine. You are the next links in the chain and I’m sure I speak for many when I say “thank you” for the professionalism, insight, humor, compassion, knowledge, vision, and fierce dedication I’ve found in the pages of Motor Age over the years. Next stop, 150!
