Burbank’s Autobooks-Aerobooks – To Live and Drive in LA

Burbank’s Autobooks-Aerobooks

To Live and Drive in LA

Burbank, CA – Despite Barnes & Noble’s recent expansion and the tenacity of independent booksellers across the country, many book retailers – not unlike locally-owned newspapers – are hanging on by sheer willpower. And of those bookstores, one of those hanging on – and hanging on – is the auto-centric bookstore on Magnolia Boulevard in Burbank, Autobooks-Aerobooks. 

Opened in 1951 by Harry Morrow, and owned since 2007 by Tina Van Curen and Chuck Forward, Autobooks-Aerobooks is the one-stop shop for an automotive title on virtually any automotive brand, as well as books devoted to racing, rodding and restoration. If that isn’t enough to satisfy your curiosity (and max out your Mastercard), the store also features aviation books, a sprinkling of models and a sampling of T-shirts. And since your grocery store has long since given up on automotive magazines, Autobooks-Aerobooks scratches that itch with more automotive mags than either Road & Track’s John Bond or Automobile’s David E. Davis would have – or could have! – imagined. 

Were it not for the checkered flag motif fronting its corner location, Autobooks-Aerobooks could be one indistinguishable storefront among many on Burbank’s Magnolia Blvd. The shopping strip is anchored by Porto’s Bakery, and includes antique stores, galleries, resale shops and eateries. All are absolutely perfect for holiday grazing, although – in at least some – you wonder about the business model after January 2^nd. Of course, having at least some knowledge of what the appetite is for books in general and automotive titles specifically, one could wonder about the Autobooks business model for most of a 12-month calendar.

If walking in or shopping online, you’ll enjoy an incredible array of automotive, motorcycle and aviation titles. As you walk in the display is populated by books devoted to either the unattainable exotics or racing; that’s backed up by SoCal-specific books, with attention paid to the area’s custom scene, racing and Hollywood. As you’d expect, Steve McQueen plays a large role in the Hollywood section, but the area’s population of craftsmen and customizers isn’t ignored. (This is Southern California, where – for a time – George Barris was King, and ‘custom’ was frequently spelled with a ‘K’.) 

And if you’re looking for Hollywood Live, Jay Leno is a regular customer. On the Saturday morning I ‘caught up’ with him, he was driving his Merlin-powered Rolls-Royce; that’s the California car most in need of carbon credits.

With a $25 gift card, I was torn between some pre-owned titles (Automobile Quarterly is available for $5/issue!), the new autobiography by A.J. Foyt and an older bio of designer Raymond Loewy. I popped for the Loewy bio (Wilbur’s Avanti, designed by the Loewy team, was my favorite character in Mister Ed…), while wishing I had another $250 on the gift card.

If flying or driving into Burbank, know that Autobooks-Aerobooks is the tip of the proverbial ICEberg. The Petersen Automotive Museum is worth a day, Porsche operates one of its Experience Centers in LA, and if in the Los Angeles area on the first weekend of the month, Porsche of Santa Clarita – about 30 minutes north of Burbank on I-5 – hosts one of the best Cars and Coffee in the country…and you don’t have to own a Porsche to enjoy it. But you should rent one.

Santa Clarita is also adjacent to the iconic Angeles Crest Highway, where – in that rented Porsche – you could throw up your coffee.