Subscription to Road & Track is a good starter. R&T does the best testing IMO, and their engineering editor, Dennis Simanitis (SP?), is a member of the S.A.E. and also quite knowledgeable. The "Tech Tidbits" and "Technical Correspondence" sections of R&T are quite often especially informative. Also, R&T has columns by Peter Egan, who happens to be my favorite atuomotive writer. Strike up a relationship with your local mechanic(s) if you're in a small enough town, they can be a goldmine. There's no good way to "learn" how to be a car guy, you just have to immerse yourself in cars. I have no idea where or when I learned how to tell apart all 3rd generation Honda Accords (1986 looks very different from a 1989), I just know. I can pick out a 7-series Bimmer at night just by the headlights, but again I don't know quite how. Just start paying attention to cars, you'll get things firgured out quickly.
ZV