The little shop at the corner of Magnolia Boulevard and Catalina Street in Burbank, California, may be unassuming on the outside, but to the automotive world, it’s the most important bookstore in America.
Autobooks-Aerobooks, generally referred to by its original name, just Autobooks, is a mecca. Loyalists—at least those who still know how to read—migrate to 2900 West Magnolia Boulevard from all over the world, where they find like-minded auto enthusiasts and 2200 square feet of automotive titles, many of which you can’t find anywhere else, and that includes on Amazon. And yes, there is a solid selection of aeronautical books, not a surprise since one of the owners, Chuck Forward, is a retired aeronautical engineer. Though the store was originally just Autobooks, years ago it combined with a failing aviation bookstore to include aircraft.
Brandan Gillogly
This morning, the other owner, Tina Van Curen—who is married to Forward, who’s manning the cash register up front—sits at an elevated desk at the rear of Aerobooks, where she handles the paperwork. There is a lot. Not only are books getting harder to sell, they’re getting more difficult to acquire for booksellers like Van Curen. There’s a confusing contraction in the number of book distributors, especially those willing to ship important European titles to America.
She recently sent a big order to a book distributor, and instead of getting books, she got an email: “Effective last Friday, we’ve closed down.”
Tina Van CurenSteven Cole Smith
If it rattles Van Curen, it doesn’t show. “We’re working hard. It’s an uphill battle for print media in general. Look at all the magazines that have gone away, let alone books.”
But she and Forward persevere. Autobooks is an institution, founded in 1951 by Harry Morrow, a Southern California open-wheel racer and SCCA champion who, according to multiple sources, once owned part of Road & Track magazine. Forward and Van Curen bought the store from Chet Knox, a photographer and hot-rodder, who came out of retirement to take over Autobooks for six years. “I was the store’s best customer, so I bought the place,” Knox said. He promised his wife he would sell it and re-retire when he turned 80. He did.
That was in 2007. Forward and Van Curen can’t say they weren’t warned. “You really don’t own Autobooks-Aerobooks,” Knox said. “It owns you.”
But for Van Curen and Forward, it’s time to move on. Past time, actually: They announced in April of 2024 that Autobooks-Aerobooks was for sale. Why? Here’s an example: “It’s Saturday, and where are we? We’re here!” Van Curen says. “There’s a big Italian car show we’re missing.” She’s an Alfa fan; he, however, drives a Citroën. “It would be fun to go to these things. But we’re here.”
They were hoping to be former owners by now, nearly a year and a half after putting Autobooks-Aerobooks on the market. “We can’t just walk away,” Van Curen says. “First of all, it’s a tradition. We don’t want to do that. As much as I want to get out and have some kind of life, do some traveling—I’d like to have gone to the Audrain Concours in Rhode Island—We’re Southern California born and raised. If we’re going to go to New England, I don’t just want to go for a couple of days; I want to go see some things, look at the fall colors, visit some friends in Philadelphia. But we’re here.”
That the store has survived for nearly 75 years is extraordinary. A topic on Reddit has this headline: “How is the Autobooks-Aerobooks store still open?” One poster left this comment: “Love that store, you’ll see Jay Leno in there pretty regularly. I wouldn’t be surprised if he alone kept it afloat.”
Ah, comedian and former NBC Tonight Show host Jay Leno, the gift who keeps on giving to the automotive community. Leno’s personal car and motorcycle collections are legendary, as is his legitimately encyclopedic knowledge of wheeled vehicles. He’s a regular visitor to Autobooks and frequently leaves with an armload of merchandise.
Leno often attends the Saturday book signings at Autobooks, of which there are many. On October 25, John Oreovicz, a respected journalist who covers IndyCar and sports car racing, will be signing his new book “Class of ’99: Triumph and Tragedy in the 1999 CART IndyCar Series.” It was a pivotal season for IndyCar, lowlighted by the death of 24-year-old driver Greg Moore, and a points battle that ended in a tie between veteran Dario Franchitti and “brash 23-year-old rookie, Juan Pablo Montoya.”
November 8, Don Emde will sign “Flying Floyd: The Motorcycling Life of Floyd Emde,” about his father, a pivotal part of two-wheel culture in the 1940s and beyond. Floyd (1948) and Don (1972) became the only father and son to win the prestigious Daytona 200 motorcycle race. The following Saturday, Dave Wolin will be autographing “Thunder in the Desert: Stock Cars at Riverside,” an account of how stock car racing almost saved the doomed road course, which held its last race in 1988.
Van Curen and Forward do what they can to help authors. “Nobody gets rich writing car books,” she says. “Most of them either have another job, or they married well.”
She is aware that she and Autobooks are fighting an uphill battle. A genuine issue is getting younger enthusiasts to rediscover books. “There are really two problems,” Van Curen says. “One, the majority of young people barely know what books are. And the other problem is, they don’t drive. A lot don’t even have a car! Or if they do, it’s a Prius, and that’s not a car. The car is an appliance to them.
“Luckily,” she said, “there is hope. Some of them have inherited a car from their grandpa, a Model T or a ’57 Chevy, and they want to learn about it, and that brings them in.” Also, online sales are doing well. “It’s a third of our business,” Van Curen says.
Still, they’d like to move on. Any nibbles? Yes, she says. “We’ve had some people talk to us about it, but for one reason or another, it just hasn’t happened.” They’ve been at this address for 15 years, and it’s well-established. They don’t own the building, but they have four years left on the lease, with an option for three more.
So, how much? “We’re asking $350,000,” she says. “I’m offering it at a very reasonable price, and I’m negotiable, within reason. It’s going to take someone who wants to keep Autobooks alive as a labor of love.
“One guy said, ‘I’d love to have it! Can I quit my job and live off it?’ I told him no, and that’s the problem.’’ Still, “Our inventory is worth over $300,000. We’re not asking for pie in the sky.”
If only there were a wealthy automotive enthusiast who was a regular customer—say! It’s obvious! Jay Leno should buy it. After all, his collection is housed at the Burbank Airport, just a 10-minute drive from Autobooks!
Van Curen laughs. She’s heard it before.
“Jay does not need a bookstore. He has plenty of books of his own, he has a good library, and he also has that great big car collection to take care of, and his own life to manage. He still works all the time.” And it’s no secret that Mavis, his wife of 45 years, is battling advanced dementia and requires constant care. Leno is 75, Mavis is 79: he probably does not need more responsibilities in his life.
He is, however, a very good customer. “Jay’s here about once a week,” Van Curen says, and he isn’t shy about talking to other auto enthusiasts or posing for a quick selfie. “You can ask Jay about his cars, and he’ll talk all day long,” she says.
Given that people know that Leno frequents Autobooks, they’ll try to use the store as a way to contact Leno. “There’s one guy who came in and said he owned the first El Camino with seat belts. Which made it very important! He said he would sell it to Jay for a hundred grand, but only if he could watch the restoration. I said, ‘This is not Chop Cut Rebuild!’ Jay got a good laugh out of that.”
So the search continues, and Van Curen and Forward know they aren’t getting any younger. Autobooks-Aerobooks is internationally known, with a lot of walk-ins and online customers from all over Europe, Australia, New Zealand… “It’s a famous place” for auto aficionados, she says. “We have more books than you’ve ever seen on cars. Pick a make, or pick a topic, and we’ve got something on it.
“There’s no other store like this in the country. If you want a book on a car, this is the place.”
And hopefully, it will be for years to come. The store’s website is autobooks-aerobooks.com.
Steven Cole Smith
Steven Cole Smith
Steven Cole Smith
Steven Cole Smith