He seeks adventure and invites us along.
Peter Egan has been a contributing editor to Road and Track and Cycle World magazine for so many years. His column “Side Glances” has enriched my life as an enthusiast, and I would bet that many others have had the same experience.
I have never met the man but through reading his columns and articles over the years, I believe that we are kindred spirits. He treats his reader like an old friend, sharing stories of his youthful experiences and automotive aspirations.
Mr. Egan (Can I call you Peter?) is a bit older than myself and grew up during the mid Fifties and early Sixties. He dropped out of college and enlisted in the military. He served during the Vietnam War. Upon his return he was employed for many years as a European car mechanic. He has also raced sports cars and motorcycles, usually preferring British machinery. He has restored several race cars and European sports cars such as MGs, A Jaguar E Type, a Porsche 356 and others. Even some American Models. His life story and experiences has provided him with a wealth of recollections and fodder for his stories.
Through his writing, you will learn that like most of us, Peter couldn’t wait until he was old enough to drive. He learned his basic mechanical skills fixing the old lawnmowers that he used to earn his spending money. Eventually he managed to acquire a go kart. I know that I wanted a go kart for the longest time, back in those pre drivers license years. He was extremely attuned to the different cars that were driven by his neighbors. his recollections of the cars in his neighborhood are quite amusing. Back then, the type of car you drove was a big reflection of the person that you were. Not only were there Ford and Chevy people, there were Chrysler and even Studebaker folks. Brand loyalty ran very strong in those days, often generations deep.
Always a “hands on” kind of guy, he turned his own wrenches, learning many valuable lessons that he shares in a humorous and ironic manner. He can find the kernel of wisdom in almost any situation. It is obvious that the man really cares about cars, and how they are an instrument that we can use to satisfy so many of our needs and desires.
He delights in the prospect of obtaining a new automotive project. He immerses himself in learning the background and lore surrounding a potential purchase. I find it so gratifying that he cares so much. Just like me, and I’ll bet like you too. Like most of us, Peter is interested in just about anything with a motor. He has been involved with motorcycles, boats, trucks, and even airplanes. I would say that he has been a lucky guy, but as Peter once wrote, when you really want something, you make it happen!
One of the best things about Peter’s writing is that it is so easy to empathize with him. His struggles, and his frustrations, are just like ours. He has been there, probably many more times than we have. His successes and triumphs can be shared by us, because they are like ours. Though our’s might be on a more humble level.
Another thing that I like about Peter’s writing is that it always has a positive message. It is uplifting and almost always cheerful and reaffirming. He may have suffered some real life setbacks, but his stories are always fun, and sometimes quite humorous. It is easy to place ourselves in his shoes, because they fit us so well.
Peter’s columns and articles have been collected into several books. The Side glances and the Leanings series. There are also books about his road trips, Researching this post I discovered several books that I hadn’t read yet. I have read many of his columns in Road and Track over the years, but I was happy to discover these anthologies. The richness of these volumes cannot be understated.
You may have noticed that I have not really revealed any of the narrative story lines from Peter’s writing. First, these were primarily written as magazine columns, so they are short, sweet, and to the point. Second, each volume contains about two dozen columns covering a myriad of automotive subjects and experiences. Since I have arrived at senior citizen status, certain themes, especially those concerning the running down of my life clock, resonate especially strongly for me.
Use your time wisely, there is only so much left. photo source: wallpaper abyss.
In one story Peter relates how he has come to admire the new Porsche Boxster convertibles. They were a return to the simpler, purer virtues that he remembered from his earlier experiences with Porches of the past. At that time late model used examples were available at fairly affordable prices. He had gone to the dealer and test driven some cars to determine which model he wanted. He still found their prices a little hard to swing, but he told the salesman that if a slightly older car at a certain price range became available, to “give him a call.”
Of course, in due time he gets a call from from the dealership telling him that a car meeting his criteria has just come in. So he goes down to check it out, and of course he is smitten. Still, he decides that the time is still not right, so he passes on the car. Then he goes home and his long suffering wife Barbara, asks what he thought about the Boxster. He tells her that it’s a good thing that she didn’t go to the dealer with him, because she would have wanted him to buy it! She asks why he didn’t just buy the car. He replies that the time just isn’t right. Barbara counters in the way we all wish that our spouses would. She says that the car is exactly what he wanted, the price was right, and it’s convertible! Summer is coming. And… there are only so many Summers left. Of course Peter realizes her wisdom and goes back and gets the car.
If you have never heard of Peter Egan, or have just never had the opportunity to read any of his stories, I highly recommend that you take the time to pick up and read one of his books. As a car and motorcycle enthusiast it is a pleasure to find someone who can interpret OUR feelings. I think you will enjoy and be amazed that someone so witty and eloquent can capture the very same feelings that we all share, and can put them down on paper.
When Peter wrote for R&T, “Side Glances” was the highlight of every issue. Once, on a tour of the R&T offices, which were then in Newport Beach, I had the pleasure of being shown his office though, regrettably, he was not then on the premises.
Peter Egan and I had a few things in common. We both have owned Ducati’s, BMW’s and Honda CB400F’s. And we’re both married to Physical Therapists. But I think that’s about it, as I certainly lack his musical or mechanical skills, and we’re not even on the same planet when it comes to insights and writing. Though I may be a bit better in the judgement department: I haven’t tried a cross-country trip on a Norton, nor have I bought a Ford Contour, which he raved about (briefly) and then seemed to just disappear.
Jose, you’re not a bad writer yourself. Actually very good. Thanks for this post – and thanks for resisting the temptation to call it “Curbside Glances” 😀.
Go carts, hmm. For me in 1966 San Fernando Valley it was minibikes.
Thanks, Jose. You reminded me that “Side Glances” was the highlight of R&T for me as well. Peter Egan’s understated, wry style spoke to me, and I followed his journeys vicariously. My wrenching skills are modest, but I did manage to drive a Glas 1300GT from Wisconsin to California many years ago. Last year, I purchased a Fiat X1/9 in Columbus, Ohio, and drove it home to Calgary without any noteworthy mishaps. Some might say that’s worth a glance.
My father and I had a R&T subscription through the 80’s and 90’s and Peter Egan’s writing was enormously influential. I felt like he was writing directly to me, like somehow I was receiving secret messages that despite being published in a major magazine were intended for my eyes.
I soaked up those columns, and in my own limited way tried to do a small scale version of his efforts. I’ve fixed and driven cars and motorcycle, gone on road trips for the flimsiest of excuses, and enjoyed friends, guitars, and quality beverages.
Where I didn’t follow him was in the areas of airplanes and racing. Unlike Mr Egan I had children, and one cannot do everything on a limited budget.
I’ve not met him in person, but I have a friend who did and he said that in person he is exactly as you would expect.
My experience is similar – dad and I had an R&T subscription (and later I continued mine after I moved away), and Peter Egan’s column was the first thing I’d read every month.
I felt like I knew the guy like I’d know a friend. All of the stages of his life: growing up, serving in the military, working as a mechanic, his house in Wisconsin, his Buick, and so on. His stories were familiar to me in the way a friend’s stories are. Most of his columns I didn’t personally relate to – after all, I’m a few decades younger, am not mechanically inclined, never had much of an interest in racing, and so on… but it didn’t matter. Peter’s writing was always so relatable, even on topics that rarely interested me.
I still have my collection of R&T magazines, and when I’m looking through them I’ll often pause and read one of Peter’s Side Glances columns. He’ll always be one of my favorite writers.
Thanks for the nice writeup! Peter Egan was always my favorite R&T writer; we both had similar motorcycles over the decades, and we are both from Wisconsin. I can still remember the dealership he worked at on the west side of Madison long ago! We both lived in Madison for years; it is a beautiful City!
His writing was always the first thing I went for when I received my monthly issue of R&T years ago. Good memories! 🙂 DFO
Our highschool library featured some R&T magazines so yes Ive heard if him.
Peter Egan is one of the all-time greats, right up there with Henry Manney III and Tom McCahill.
Always a favorite of mine, going back to when he first started and still lived in LA. I admired his move to rural Wisconsin, but then the nature of his job made that possible. His work undoubtedly was a significant influence on me. What? Folks will read about my automotive-related experiences in life?
Also right up there with Cook Neilson and Gordon Jennings.
I’d name Egan, along with Henry N. Manney III, as the automotive writers I’d most want to be stuck on a desert island with. Egan would probably figure out how to keep us alive, and Manney would keep us from getting depressed about our fate. Brock Yates and Jeremy Clarkson? I’d take my chances swimming away.
Uh, what’s wrong with the rest of us CC contributors? 🙂 We’d all have plenty of pictures in our phone libraries to pass around the fire…
High time that we recognized Mr. Egan and his work, good job, Jose! I too read him every month starting in high school and then in college caught up on all the old Cycle World’s and even some of the aviation ones in the campus library, instead of studying of course.
I’ve met him a couple of times, both times at the Monterey Historics, and each time came away with a signed copy of the most recent “Side Glances” collection, both of which are on the shelf behind me as I write this… He is, as DougD said above, exactly as you would expect. Friendly, polite, humble, you find yourself looking around for a bartender to pour him a pint on your tab…
If Peter Egan was still writing for R&T I would resubscribe.
We got all of the car magazines at work (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) to keep up with current automotive events. (Yes, we could read the buff books on company time.)
Peter Egan’s column was a must every month. If I recall correctly, he graduated from high school in 1966, which implies his current age is 76, so yes he’s a few years older than Jose and me.
I’m an Egan fan. I would bet that he visits the CC site often. It aligns with his views.
Peter… feel free to drop in a comment. We’d all love to hear from you.