For those of us who are unabashed car people (like us), car magazines are the bibles - or at least the handbooks - that we all draw inspiration from when it comes to our dream rides. Who among us hasn’t eagerly anticipated the arrival of the next issue of – pick your title – in the mailbox or on the newsstand?

I am definitely one of those people and have been from the time before I was even old enough to drive. Given that I write and edit for a luxury and performance automobile magazine – Canada’s only – I’m still very much like that teenaged kid who gets excited going to the newsstand.

One of the best aspects of car magazines, in my opinion, are the annual ‘best of’ issues, in which the editors pick their car(s) of the year. Obviously, picking the best (and worst) cars is an inherently subjective exercise, but that’s what makes it so much fun. It’s like those discus- sions we like to have about who the greatest hockey player of all time is. There is no right or wrong answer, just a lot of passionate opinions.

And so it is with cars. Everyone has their favourites, and we all have the right to agree or disagree.

Reading about which cars find the favour of which editorial staffs and those that do not makes for very entertaining reading. Some of the funniest items I’ve ever read in magazines have come from those same issues when the so-called ‘worst’ cars of the year are being discussed.

With that in mind, we decided to get in on the fun here at PRN Ignition. While this isn’t a full-blown car of the year issue and no award is at stake, we make our case for what we believe is a car that is very worthy of such an honour.

The 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray grace our cover this issue because it is quite simply an outstanding car that we believe is worthy of car of the year consideration. Between our office staff and our contributors in the field, we drive a lot of cars in a given year. This year, the Stingray stands out.

In fact, Shaun Keenan, our Group Managing Editor, says it’s the best car he drove in the last year. Coming from a veteran automotive journalist like Shaun, that is indeed high praise. To find out why he’s so high on the Corvette, flip to page 24 for his in-depth look at the latest instalment of a North American sports car legend.

In addition to the Corvette, we have a dynamic mix of performance reviews and features featuring a broad selection of vehicles from Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan and Subaru.

Elsewhere we’ve got compelling coverage of Formula One, IndyCar and from other fronts on the Canadian and international motorsport scenes. Our F1 correspondent Dan Knutson takes a look at what all of the change coming to F1 in 2014 might do to the world championship (p. 62), while yours truly chronicles yet another unfortunate turn of events for the IndyCar Series (p. 58).

Other good reads include Associate Editor Jordan Lenssen’s take on the heritage of Gulf Racing (p. 50), a brand that has long outlived the company it originally came from, while Senior Editor George Webster makes the pilgrimage to England for the Goodwood Revival (p. 54), an event that should be on the bucket list of any true motorsports aficionado.

While this might not be a typical car of the year special issue, what you are holding in your hands represents many of our favourite things.