About Just Cars

Just Cars

Just Cars is Australia's largest-selling car magazine — the self-described "bible" of the collectable, classic and custom car enthusiast for buying, selling and "just plain dreaming." Published by JUST AUTO Classifieds Pty Ltd, it is built around Australia's biggest motoring classifieds marketplace: it is free for private individuals to advertise, making it the first place many enthusiasts look for their next dream machine — or for a like-minded buyer to take care of theirs.

Overview

Just Cars combines classified advertising with enthusiast editorial. Each issue carries pages of classifieds for collectable, classic and custom cars — dealer and private ads from across Australia — alongside features and regulars covering the collector-car world. A typical issue's features show the mix: an LJ Torana GTR XU-1 — a genuine "Strike Me Pink" example, believed one of the first 200 XU-1s built — auctioned in the UK for almost $95,000 after first surfacing in Just Cars' own pages, plus market news, history inserts (such as a "40 Years of Rover" special) and event coverage.

The company's understanding of enthusiast audiences has been central throughout: "maintaining the integrity and focus of each vertical rather than diluting them with unrelated content." The Just Auto network pitches itself as "number #1 for auto enthusiasts in Australia" — "Australia's leading enthusiast cars, bikes, trucks, parts, boats & heavy equipment market place" — offering advertisers "one of the largest audiences of motor vehicle buyers in Australia."

The commercial proposition is the free private advertising: with no cost to individuals to list, the magazine aggregates more private-seller cars than any rival, and buyers know it is the densest single marketplace for enthusiast vehicles in the country.

History

Just Cars began on a kitchen table. In 1989 Shayne Hunter started publishing vehicle classified magazines built on a simple innovation — photographs alongside the listings — inspired by London Motor Show catalogues. Operating from the Hunter family home in Victoria, the first issue of Just Bikes was assembled on the family's kitchen table as a true family effort; within six months the magazine had grown by almost 50 per cent in page count, validating the photo-classified concept.

The business grew rapidly and moved to its first formal office in North Geelong in 1994. In the mid-1990s Shayne expanded the portfolio with Just Cars, deliberately focused on collectible, classic and enthusiast vehicles rather than everyday used cars. Both Just Bikes and Just Cars quickly became the leading publications in their respective categories.

Then came the rupture that defined the company. Following Shayne Hunter's unexpected death in 1998, his 22-year-old son Ashley "Ash" Hunter stepped into leadership, determined to continue his father's vision. Under Ash Hunter's guidance the company entered a new phase of growth, launching Just Trucks & Heavy Equipment (2001), Just Parts and Just 4x4s in the early 2000s; by the late 2000s the portfolio had grown to five specialised publications, each a leader or strong contender in its niche. Through strategic digital transformation the business evolved "from a kitchen-table business into one of Australia's largest privately owned publishing companies, while remaining family-owned for over three decades."

Today JUST AUTO Media comprises eight marketplaces — JUST AUTO, JUST CARS, JUST BIKES, JUST TRUCKS, JUST HEAVY EQUIPMENT, JUST PARTS, JUST 4X4S and Boat Trader — with print and online offerings for niche vehicle markets. JUST CARS and JUST BIKES are described as the top two circulating magazines in their respective Australian genres. Online, the network's seven independent websites blend classifieds with rich content and social networking; JUST CARS and JUST BIKES were the first of the group's sites to integrate all three. Ash Hunter remains chief executive, and the company — headcount in the dozens — is headquartered in Geelong, Victoria.

The marketplace model

Just Cars grew out of Australia's print classifieds tradition for the collector-car market. Issue numbering had passed 320 by late 2022 (issue #320 was the November 2022 edition), indicating a long continuous publishing run stretching back decades — the January 2000 issue was numbered #81. The magazine is published by JUST AUTO Classifieds Pty Ltd, a classifieds specialist, and is sold through newsagents, subscriptions and digital editions fulfilled by Zinio.

The collector-car ecosystem

Just Cars' pages document the machinery of Australia's collector-car trade. The classifieds carry dealer advertising from the specialists of the scene — Corvette importers, British-car dealers such as Motors of Brooklands, rotary drag-racing advertisers — alongside thousands of private listings, all photographed: the photo-classified innovation Shayne Hunter borrowed from London Motor Show catalogues remains the format's foundation. History inserts, such as the "40 Years of Rover" special tracing the marque from Mini Cooper to Land Rover County, sit beside auction coverage and market news.

The magazine's long publishing run is visible in its issue numbering: issue #81 was dated January 2000, and the count had passed #320 by November 2022 — a continuous monthly presence across more than two decades. For the trade it is a utility; for the enthusiast it is, as the forums put it, "the magazine mainly for collector cars" — the place to find a yellow Valiant Charger R/T on the cover one month and a genuine LJ Torana GTR XU-1 surfacing the next.

Content and Features

The magazine's features and regulars cover auction results, market movements, marque histories, restoration stories and event listings, alongside the classified core. The editorial voice is that of the enthusiast insider — tracking cars like the "British" Torana GTR XU-1 from first surfacing through to auction sale, and celebrating the dealer and club culture (from Corvette importers to rotary drag-racing advertisers) that has filled its pages since the turn of the millennium.

The "buy, sell and dream" promise

The brand's tagline — "easy, fast and affordable way to buy, sell and dream" — captures the dual audience: the buyer or seller completing a transaction, and the enthusiast browsing for pleasure. Digital editions are fulfilled by Zinio across web, desktop, iPad, iPhone and Android, and the justcars.com.au website extends the classifieds marketplace online with free private listings and paid upgrades.

The network's advertiser pitch is straightforward: "We give you access to one of the largest audiences of motor vehicle buyers in Australia" with "highly cost-effective" packages — the scale that comes from aggregating the country's enthusiast buyers across eight vertical marketplaces.

Coverage and Audience

Just Cars is distributed nationally through newsagents and subscriptions, with digital editions available on web, desktop, iPad, iPhone and Android through Zinio (single digital issues around $2.57, annual digital subscriptions around $29.34). Its audience is Australia's collectable, classic and custom car community — buyers, sellers, restorers and dreamers — and as the country's largest-selling car magazine it reaches further than any other motoring print title.

The company's senior team includes national sales manager Phil Suriano, senior writer Mike Ryan and production manager Sherri Palmer, supporting the Geelong-based operation.

Ownership

Just Cars is published by JUST AUTO Classifieds Pty Ltd. The magazine is based in Melbourne, Victoria.

The magazine's longevity — from a kitchen-table start-up to Australia's largest-selling car magazine — underwrites its authority with advertisers and readers alike.

Digital Presence

Digital editions of Just Cars are available through Zinio and magazine retailers, readable on web, desktop and mobile apps. The brand maintains the classifieds-driven model online, where private advertisers can list free — extending the print marketplace to the digital audience between issues.