Road & Track Founder John Bond, 77, Dies of Emphysema

John R. Bond, former publisher and driving force behind the success of Newport Beach-based Road & Track magazine, died Friday at his home in Escondido after a long bout with emphysema. He was 77.

Bond was well respected throughout the automotive world and had an international reputation as an automotive journalist with a gift for writing about technical matters in laymen’s terms.

In 1949, Bond and his second wife, Elaine, bought Road & Track when it was a struggling, 2-year-old magazine on the brink of folding.

“With a lot of hard work, they made it rise to what it is today,” said Bond’s son, John R. Bond Jr.

Schooled as an automotive engineer who once designed motorcycles for Harley Davidson, Bond owned the magazine until 1972, when he sold it to CBS.

As publisher, Bond instituted such staples of automotive journalism as the technical road test.

“My father lived, breathed, slept, ate and dreamed cars,” Bond Jr. said.

Bond maintained his interest in cars up until his death, filling his 30-car garage with the vehicles he owned, his son said.