OVERVIEW:
Still in print after 57 years, Dune Buggies and Hot VWs magazine provides in-depth features on VW history, project cars, technical repair articles, and specialized coverage of Baja bugs, Sand Rails, and classic VW builds. It one of the oldest and most established publications centered on VW-powered performance.

HISTORY:
Dune Buggies - The Fun Car Journal was first published in three quarterly editions as a Cycle World Special Edition. The publisher was Joseph Conrad Parkhurst in Long Beach, California. Parkhurst had created Cycle World in 1962, and he used a more objective approach to product evaluations.

After three quarterly publications, the magazine was launched as a full-sized, bi-monthly product in June, 1968. A year later it went to a monthly format. And in April, 1970, the "fun car" aspect of the title was dropped and the magazine became Dune Buggies and Hot VWs.

OWNERSHIP:
With the summer 1972 edition, the magazine was sold to Wright Publishing in Costa Mesa, California. Jim Wright took over as editor and publisher. His wife Judy later ran the company.

In May, 2017, the magazine was purchased by Orange County International (OCI) Media. The new owner and publisher was Shin Mukai. He produced 75 issues through August, 2023 until health issues forced him to find a suitable buyer to carry on the legacy.

Tom Kinney purchased the title in 2023. He is a VW drag racer, collector and enthusiast. He operates the magazine as TK Motorsports, OCI Media.

The table of contents, if available, can be seen by clicking on the icon.

PUBLICATION DATA:
Parkhurst Publishing and Wright Publishing both provided net paid circulation data to multiple periodical compendia from 1970 to 2005 (which is the last year for which we have data at this time). Over this time period, average monthly print production started at 62,000 issues, grew to 111,500 issues in 1989, and then settled down to around 92,000 issues to the end of our data set.

CONTENT COMPLETENESS:
Over 670 issues have been printed from Winter, 1967 through April, 2026. All cover images through 2025 are complete at this time.

INTERNET:
An internet presence was created and URL references added to the front covers starting in June, 1998. The website is at www.hotvws.com