OVERVIEW:
Muscle Car Enthusiast (MCE) was a title published by Amos Press in Sidney, Ohio. It was one of a number of
very popular niche
titles focused on classic muscle cars from the 1960s and 1970s. When Primedia shut down the first iteration of
Muscle Car Review in January, 2002, Amos Press saw a market opportunity. Early issues featured a wide range of
performance vehicles from Chevrolet, Ford, Mopar and even AMC, with good restoration articles and barn find stories. With time,
the title reduced vintage muscle car coverage and added articles on newer Mustangs, Camaros and Challengers.
Amos acquired multiple titles to build up readership more quickly. These included:
- Muscle Car from publisher Curt Patterson in Lakeland, Florida. Patterson had worked as the advertising director for Dobbs Publishing before he started Muscle Car magazine. We have only found two issues of this predecessor title.
- Muscle Car Motion purchased from Jeff Gaddie and the American Muscle Car Association. This title was likely started in 2002, and only five issues have been identified based on evidence. The title was folded into MCE in early 2003.
- Muscle Car Power, a title created by Tom Shaw. Mr. Shaw had previously worked for Primedia's Muscle Car Review, and he started this new title in 2003 (date unknown). It was folded into MCE in late 2003. Note: This title was resurrected by Action Pursuit Group in 2006.
The decline in niche title readership drove Amos to consolidate the title, along with six others, into Auto Enthusiast with the December, 2010 issue.
The table of contents, if available, can be seen by clicking on the 
icon.
OWNERSHIP:
The parent company was Amos Press in Sidney, Ohio. Amos got into the car magazine business with the acquisition of
Cars & Parts in 1978, and over the years built up a portfolio of titles.
PUBLICATION DATA:
The publisher provided net paid circulation data to The Standard Periodical Directory for 2005 only. Annual
print production was reported as 42,000.
CONTENT COMPLETENESS:
A total of 94 issues was printed from January, 2003 through November, 2010 when it was folded into Auto Enthusiast.
All images are complete through the end of print production except May, June and October 2010.
INTERNET:
The publisher had a website for this title. The website is now defunct: www.musclecarenthusiast.com.
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