Road craft
Technique, judgement and the small decisions that make a fast road safe and a slow one enjoyable. Driving as a skill, not a commute.
Read a feature →Independent automotive journal · Issue 01
Machines, roads, and the people who keep them running.
Motorkinet is written for drivers who still look back at the car after parking it. Long-form features on the craft of driving, the discipline of maintenance and the cars that refuse to become appliances.
10 long-form features
No paywall
Updated monthly
01Issue
2026Season
10In-depth features
05Regular sections
0Paywalls, ever
1Rule: drive it
The journal
Cars are not content. They are machines you live with.
Motorkinet began as a shared notebook between a mechanic, a photographer and two people who kept buying cars they did not need. It is still roughly that, only with better proofreading.
We publish a small number of features and take them seriously: how a car actually behaves on a wet road, what a paint finish needs to survive a decade outdoors, why a forty-year-old coupe can feel more modern than a new one.
- Format
- Long-form features
- Published
- Monthly
- Written by
- Drivers, not bots
- Reader support
- No advertising
What we cover
Three sections,
one obsession.
Every feature sits in one of three places: the road, the workshop, or the culture that keeps both alive.
Owner's manual
Maintenance, care and the honest cost of keeping a car well. What to do yourself, what to pay for, and what to ignore entirely.
Read a feature →Icons & culture
The cars that shaped the hobby, and the people who use them properly. History with the bonnet open, not behind a rope.
Read a feature →Latest
From the current issue.
Three new features, each with a full reading list and photographs from the road.
Icon Cars
The Enduring Appeal of Analog Sports Cars
No drive modes, no torque vectoring, no software update overnight. Why cars with a cable, a hydraulic rack and a manual gearbox are more desirable than ever.
Read more
Electric
Home Charging an EV: The Practical Guide Nobody Hands You
Circuit capacity, cable length, off-peak tariffs and the awkward question of who pays for the upgrade. What actually matters when you charge at home.
Read more
Care
Detailing That Lasts: A Paint Routine for Real Drivers
Two buckets, one drying towel and twenty minutes a fortnight will do more for your paint than an annual trip to a specialist. Here is the routine.
Read moreThe archive
Seven more reasons to
take the long way.
Buying guides, maintenance essays and a case for the second car you probably should not buy.
04
Buying a Classic Car Without Buying a Money Pit
05
Winter Driving: Tyres, Technique and the Case for Slowing Down
06
Night Driving: Seeing Better Without Blinding Anyone
07
Building a Home Garage Workshop That Actually Gets Used
08
The Road Trip Checklist Worth Printing
09
American Muscle: Why Torque Still Matters
10
The Case for a Weekend Car You Actually Drive
From the road
Light, metal and weather.
A few frames from the features in this issue, shot on the roads where they were written.
