Crankshaft, A Periodical
by Richard Lentinello
There is no doubt that Richard Lentinello’s Crankshaft publication is exclusively focused on sharing stories and photos featuring interesting automobiles. That said, whether this periodical ought to be called a book or a magazine is up to you. Having recently reread #1, published Spring 2021, and then the most recent #9, dated March 2025, the publication has matured though remaining very nearly a one-man production with Lentinello serving as publisher, editor, photographer and main writer—storyteller is the word he now prefers commencing with #9—while also doing the page layouts.
Number 9 has more pages than its predecessors. That first issue through and including the eighth were 144 pages each (9″ x 10.75″), priced at $12.95 with an annual subscription of $59.95 for the projected to be, though not quite realized, quarterly. This newest is 244 pages, priced at $40 per issue with Lentinello writing in his message that “moving forward, you will have the option of ordering either a single issue or purchasing a two-issue subscription . . . with a publishing timeline of every six months . . . or so.” Curiously the masthead information in #9 still indicates it’s a quarterly instead of a bi-annual.
Table of Contents with red background is Issue #1. The other, with white background, is #9.
A quick comparison of the tables of contents of these two issues bookending production show they are identical in presentation thus indicating the same number of car stories in each issue. Closer comparison reveals that each car story is given more pages so the background and history of each is more fully told. Moreover words for each are more not just due to additional pages but also because #9’s font is slightly smaller than what was used in #1–8. There are more images too and many are shown larger on the page. Interestingly, at least half of the articles in #9 are about cars that Lentinello has photographed and written after he first encountered each at an Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA) show. He has become a regular attendee at these since having been elected in 2023 to the organization’s Board of Directors. Prior to that, and since, he has served by invitation on the panel of judges making the hard decision which of the eminently deserving cars would earn that organization’s annual top honor, the Zenith Award.
Crankshaft’s content is not as eclectic as either Special Interest Autos (SIA) or Automobile Quarterly had been as those familiar with those revered publications can attest. That said, Crankshaft’s content is more diverse than any of the Hemmings magazines created during Lentinello’s time as editor in chief overseeing that company’s publications. Each issue of Crankshaft is a genuine mix—older, newer, domestic, foreign—depending upon what has captured his interest or caught his eye and been captured by the lens of his camera.
1948 Chrysler New Yorker Luxury Brougham two-door, one of only 545 built during its three years, 1946, ’47 and ’48, of production.
In addition to the 15 or so car features, there are a few departments with each also allocated additional pages in #9. One, titled “From the Drawing Board,” is authored by respected historian Walt Gosden who draws from his own archives and collections to illustrate.
1949 Playboy. There are few extant of the 100 originally produced and this restored one is owned by the grandson of the car’s creator!
That Crankshaft’s creator/producer is doing his all to live his dream cannot be denied. Richard Lentinello earned his degree from Pratt Institute, at the time planning to work as an interior architect/designer. He did work at his degreed trade until finally succumbing to the siren that kept beckoning him into the world of automotive publishing.
This Brooklyn native first landed at geographically familiar and convenient CSK Publishing. A decade on Hemmings lured him to Vermont. A bit of a culture shock but he settled in and, as he writes on his blog TheWorldofClassicCars.com, he “created the Classic Car, Muscle Car, and Sports & Exotic Cars magazines” while at Hemmings. Thus it should be no surprise that Crankshaft feels and reads like some of each amalgamated between the covers of a single issue.
Interested or curious to examine an issue of Crankshaft for yourself, be aware it is available from only three sources. Foremost is its website www.CrankshaftMagazine.com but for those living in greater Detroit, copies may be found on the magazine racks of Pasteiner’s on Woodward Avenue. And for those in greater Southern California, it is available at Autobooks-Aerobooks in Burbank.
Copyright 2025 Helen V Hutchings (speedreaders.info)
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