THE BEST... JOURNALISTS
LJK SETRIGHT CONTRIBUTOR, 1965 1999
No writer in CAR’s history has attained the reach and reverence of Leonard John Kensell Setright, largely because there has never been anyone else like him. The man was a one-off. His unapologetically grandiose writing style was erudite and combative, and as unmistakable as his appearance (the look evolved into flowing beard, wide-brimmed hat, cigarette holder clasped within leather gloves). He trained as a lawyer, yet such was his technical nous he was invited to join the Institute of Mechanical Engineers. When a sub-editor once requested he tone down the Latin references in his copy, he responded by filing his next column exclusively in (fluent) Latin. He remains CAR’s most celebrated, and unique, scribe.
MEL NICHOLS EDITOR, 1974 1981
Mel ‘O’Drama’ Nichols specialised in descriptive, experiential drives, so rich in colour you felt as if you were behind the wheel yourself. It wasn’t just the writing: Nichols’ editorship evolved CAR to greater, and more influential, heights. Celebratory photography, near-the-knuckle scoops and the introduction of the acerbic ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’ section shifted CAR from leftfield outsider to market leader – but always on its own terms.
GEORGE BISHOP CONTRIBUTOR, 1962 1994
Fleet Street journalist Bishop became CAR’s first editor, in 1962, but he was more celebrated for his long-running Carte Blanche column, which was outrageous, funny and quite meta. His insights came through the prism of the PR hoopla of car launches, with a big focus on the food and booze. He knew and loved cars, but his lasting contribution to CAR was his glorious bemusement: ‘I seem to have been in an even bigger muddle than usual this last month, and finished up driving a Bedford CF panel van when there was a perfectly good Porsche 924 waiting to be used and am also told I need a kilt as I was in Scotland three times in about two weeks. But don’t think it hasn’t been fun…’
PHIL LLEWELLIN CONTRIBUTOR, 1975 1992
A proper travel writer, who happened to do most of his travelling by car or truck, Llewellin had a keen interest in military history and civil engineering, but specialised in long treks through often inhospitable places, with evocative descriptions of the people, the places, the food and the calamity that was never far away in those pre-GPS, pre-reliability days.
This is him on the largely disastrous 1985 Camel Trophy in Borneo: ‘We are tired, very tired, but fatigue is mixed with a masochistic feeling that pushing yourself brutally hard is all part of the great game. It does a flabby, softliving scribe good to lock horns with Mother
Nature for the thick end of a fortnight.’
He died in 2005, but his memory lives in an award to encourage young motoring writers.
STEVE CROPLEY EDITOR, 1981 1986
To misquote the Ramones, Steven was a punk rocker. As editor, his view was that CAR should be an anti-establishment rebel – despite being the top-selling enthusiast title. Fearlessly he lobbed barbs at car company ‘shinybums’ and published stories that caused ads to be pulled, yet all the while his love of cars flooded through. Cropley’s innate curiosity led to a cheapo Skoda, Reliant, Lada and 2CV being put through the same drive-story paces as the supercars he relished – and he put both spectra on the cover. A laconic writer, in person he’s witty and warm, a punk rocker no more.
GAVIN GREEN EDITOR, 1987 1996
If Cropley was a punk rocker, Green is an utter gent – but one happy to throw the odd haymaker. He arrived at CAR with a skill set gleaned from Aussie newspapers and his rally driving, novel-writing father. Covers such as
Cropley ensured was always an antiestablishment rebel
1989’s ‘Japan shows Europe how to build sports cars’ and 1990’s ‘Euro-car clones’ attack on unimaginative design showed the steel, while ‘There will never be another month like this’ – lavishing the Countach Evoluzione, F40, Ferrari vs Aston and Porsche 959 on the reader – showed the passion. Still loving lightweight cars, still holding the industry to account.
RUSSELL BULGIN CONTRIBUTOR, 1999 2000
An F1 reporter (at Motor), a great editor (briefly, at Cars and Car Conversions), and a stunningly good CAR columnist, he authored a famously grumpy profile of Nigel Mansell. His frame of reference was as broad – cycling, design, music – as his writing was sharp. He was brilliant at putting cars (here in a Ford Fiesta XR2i in 1989) into context: ‘Zinging down the M40 against a vicious crosswind and lashing rain, Aaron Neville sings A Change is Gonna Come with a catch in his voice and, for a moment, all’s right with the world.’
CHRIS CHILTON CONTRIBUTOR, 2004 ON
While many CAR editors came from Aussie mag Wheels, five of the current team are exAutocar, where ex-Geordie grease monkey Chris Chilton cut his teeth. There he once sent his subordinates to France to repatriate barely used test tyres for subsequent sale, displaying the sense of naughtiness that peppers his often hilarious writing.
Chilton’s strength is an ability to relay the excitement of all cars, from the 13hp original Fiat 500 and Mk1 Focus he’s owned, to the LaFerrari he stuck in the Fiorano gravel – a rare aberration Ferrari still teases him about.