I'm concentrating on "D to D: Drift & Driving Entertainment Magazine" in this post. I've found that there is a great deal of technical depth in D to D. What would likely be a paragraph blurb on a new intercooler from Greddy/Trust becomes a 2 page spread with temperature graphs by RPM, etc.
The very first thing I noticed about these JDM mags is that even though we in North America think we run a lot of advertising in our print media... We got NOTHIN on japan. With a car culture deeply focused on customization and personalizing your ride, the magazines sometimes have more ad space than actual editorial/feature content. And it's what works in the Japanese market.
In fact the majority of the articles in the magazine have to do with flogging new parts on roadways and circuits. It's also nice that the contributors are the ones actually out there driving, testing, and racing. To see Orido and Taniguchi (best name ever award to Nobutero AKA NOB or "No One Better") giving their opinions and observations would lend great credibility to a manufacturer in Japan.
I also love that they include pretty in depth coverage of drift competitions.
Showing the tournament ladder and detailing the competitors cars. They have pages upon pages of this stuff!
One thing that really caught my attention was the DIY sections. In North America, do it yourself sections in magazines tend to stay on the tamer side, with simpler installations, and minor fabrication. But in this issue, there's an article that appears to be cracking open a dif, and installing an LSD. I don't know about you, but most people I know consider messing around in differentials to be part of the black arts. :)
Another feature here, is a car that's already been seen on Speedhunters. It's a JZa80 Supra with a late model Celica front end grafted on. It's one thing to graft pieces from one car to another (Usually resulting in a mess in my opinion), but the Celica Supra not only is well resolved, but harkens back to the beginnings of when the two models were more intertwined.
Don't forget that Project Mu supports the Manabu Orido in 2008! :) Hehehehe. That's a great ad. And since it's the back of the magazine, it's a great ending for me.
Cheers,
-mike