J.R. Bond; Ex-Road & Track Chief

John R. Bond, former publisher and driving force behind the success of Road & Track magazine, has died. He was 77.

He died Friday at his home in Escondido after a long bout with emphysema.

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 Newport Beach-based 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.

Besides his son, Bond is survived by his wife, Mercedes, a daughter, Marilee Nudo, a sister, Virginia Bundy, and a brother, William Bond.