Editor-in-Chief | Edward Loh [1] |
---|---|
Categories | Automobile magazine |
Frequency | Quarterly (print) Monthly (Digital) |
Total circulation (June 2022) | 553,838 [2] |
First issue | September 1949 |
Company | Motor Trend Group (Hearst Communications) |
Country | United States |
Based in | El Segundo, California, U.S. |
Language | English |
Website | www |
ISSN | 0027-2094 |
Motor Trend is an American automobile magazine. It first appeared in September 1949, [3] and designated the first Car of the Year, also in 1949. [4] [5]
Petersen Publishing Company in Los Angeles published Motor Trend until 1998, when it was sold to British publisher EMAP, who then sold the former Petersen magazines to Primedia in 2001. Motor Trend bears the tagline "The Magazine for a Motoring World". As of 2024 it is published by Motor Trend Group. It has a monthly circulation of over one million. [6]
Publication was monthly but changed to quarterly in 2024. [7]
In December 2024, Hearst Communications acquired Motor Trend Group and most its assets including Motor Trend from Warner Bros. Discovery. [8]
The contents of Motor Trend magazines are divided up into sections, or departments.
Motor Trend magazine provides its readers with written "road tests" of vehicles. These road tests are published in each issue and are meant to give readers information about the featured vehicle, certain aspects of the vehicle, and what the readers can expect if the featured vehicle is purchased.
There are two main types of Motor Trend vehicle comparisons. Regular comparisons usually compare two to three vehicles, looking at what each is like to own, drive, etc. On Motor Trend's YouTube channel (titled "MotorTrend Channel"), Motor Trend puts up their best comparison of the month on a series called "Head 2 Head," featuring MotorTrend editors comparing cars on YouTube.
"Big Test" comparisons typically feature anywhere from five to seven vehicles, all being compared against each other. In a way, a vehicle comparison is like a large road test featuring many vehicles, rather than just one.
The Trend provides readers with the latest what's happening in the automotive industry. This section may feature news about manufacturers, recalls, etc. "Newcomers" (recently redesigned or all-new models), along with short informative articles about them, can also be found in this section.
Motor Trend keeps a fleet of long-term test cars at their headquarters in Los Angeles, California. The majority of the Motor Trend editors are each assigned a car, and their duty is to drive that car on a daily basis and report on what's happening. Each month, one to two new vehicles are added to the fleet, to replace the one to two vehicles leaving the fleet. Each long-term test lasts approximately one calendar year. Not every vehicle receives a printed update each month, though the vehicles are still there. This section is typically located towards the end of the magazine.
Other types of articles are sometimes featured in the Motor Trend magazine. There is typically one special feature per month. For example, in one issue of the magazine, there may be a special feature about Motor Trend's "Real MPG" testing. For these tests, Motor Trend measures the "real-world" fuel economy of a vehicle in a number of conditions, and then compares their results to the EPA estimated fuel economy that manufacturers provide dealerships, who then provide it to their customers.
One of the earliest and most enduring of the magazine's creations was its Car of the Year award, given almost continuously since 1949, [4] [5] although the phrase itself would not become entrenched until well into the 1950s. It predates the European Car of the Year award begun in 1964.
The first winner was the 1949 Cadillac, which featured an innovative overhead valve V8 engine; while the company initially turned down the award from the brand new magazine, it now proudly references its COTY wins in publicity materials. [9] [10] The award has gone through several splits and permutations over the years, being called the Golden Wheels Award for a while in the 1970s and having given rise to Truck of the Year and Import Car of the Year, as well as SUV of the Year. Nevertheless, it is still coveted by manufacturers and is usually covered by the mainstream press as the most important distinction awarded in the American auto industry.
The magazine releases a special edition every September and October listing the latest new vehicles. The September issue looks at the latest cars (sedans, coupes, etc.) for the next coming calendar year, whilst in October the magazine looks at off-roaders, MPVs and sport-utility vehicles (SUVs).
Truck Trend magazine presented features and the latest news about the truck, SUV, and crossover segments. Additionally, the Readers' Rides section allowed readers to post images and information about their own vehicles. [11] Truck Trend began in 1995 as "Truck Trends," a section of Motor Trend itself. It became the stand-alone publication Truck Trend in 1997. Truck Trend magazine ceased production in December 2019, as one of the nineteen magazines that Motor Trend Group ceased publication during that month. [12]
Motor Trend Classic included articles about significant classic cars from around the world made during the last 60 years. A total of 23 issues were produced. The first run was eight issues: two undated issues in 2005, and six additional bimonthly issues in 2006. Several years later the title was relaunched, and that second run was fifteen issues: quarterly from Spring 2010 through Spring 2013, then a combined Spring/Fall 2013 issue, with the final Summer 2014 issue appearing a year later.
Motor Trend On Demand is an online television service. It features television series from Motor Trend, Automobile Magazine , Hot Rod, Super Street and Four Wheeler , such as Roadkill. In 2015, TEN bought Torque.TV and integrated it into the service, adding coverage of motorsports competitions such as Blancpain GT Series, Pirelli World Challenge, Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, V8 Supercars, British Touring Car Championship, TCR International Series, FIA European Formula 3 Championship, European Le Mans Series, Australasian Safari, Motoamerica, Endurance FIM World Championship, Motocross World Championship, AMA EnduroCross Championship, and FIM SuperEnduro World Championship.
In April 2018, following the acquisition of a majority stake in TEN by Discovery Communications, it was announced that its U.S. cable channel Velocity would rebrand as Motor Trend Network later in the year. [13] [14] [15]
In Italy, the channel Motor Trend began broadcasting on April 29, 2018 at 6:00 am with the Car Crash TV in place of Focus, whose brand has meanwhile passed into the hands of Mediaset. [16]
In 2009, Motor Trend introduced a certified used car program, [17] beginning with dealers in Atlanta, Georgia and Cincinnati, Ohio. As explained in their press release, the program is powered by EasyCare.
Cadillac Motor Car Division, or simply Cadillac, is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that designs and builds luxury vehicles. Its major markets are the United States, Canada and China. Cadillac models are distributed in 34 additional markets worldwide. Historically, Cadillac automobiles were at the top of the luxury field within the United States, but have been outsold by European luxury brands including BMW and Mercedes since the 2000s. In 2019, Cadillac sold 390,458 vehicles worldwide, a record for the brand.
Car of the Year (COTY) is a common abbreviation for numerous automotive awards.
The Cadillac Escalade is a full-size luxury SUV manufactured by General Motors and marketed by their luxury division Cadillac. It was the luxury brand's first major entry into the SUV market. The Escalade was introduced for the 1999 model year in response to an influx of new luxury SUVs in the late 1990s such as the Mercedes-Benz M-Class, Range Rover, Lexus LX, and (especially) Ford's 1998 debut of the Lincoln Navigator. The Escalade project went into production only ten months after it was approved. The Escalade is built in Arlington, Texas. The term "escalade" refers to a siege warfare tactic of scaling defensive walls or ramparts with the aid of ladders or siege towers. More generally, it is a French word which is the noun-equivalent form of the French verb escalader, which means "to climb or scale".
In the automotive industry, rebadging is a form of market segmentation used by automobile manufacturers around the world. To allow for product differentiation without designing or engineering a new model or brand, a manufacturer creates a distinct automobile by applying a new "badge" or trademark to an existing product line.
Rear-wheel drive (RWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, in which the engine drives the rear wheels only. Until the late 20th century, rear-wheel drive was the most common configuration for cars. Most rear-wheel drive vehicles feature a longitudinally-mounted engine at the front of the car.
The Chevrolet Suburban is a series of SUVs built by Chevrolet since the 1935 model year. The longest-used automobile nameplate in the world, the Chevrolet Suburban is currently in its twelfth generation, introduced for 2021. Beginning life as one of the first metal-bodied station wagons, the Suburban is the progenitor of the modern full-size SUV, combining a wagon-style body with the chassis and powertrain of a pickup truck. Alongside its Advance Design, Task Force, and C/K predecessors, the Chevrolet Silverado currently shares chassis and mechanical commonality with the Suburban and other trucks.
The Motor Trend Car of the Year (COTY) is an annual Car of the Year award given by Motor Trend magazine to recognize the best new or significantly refreshed car in a given model year.
The Toyota Tundra is a full-size pickup truck manufactured in the United States by the Japanese manufacturer Toyota since May 1999. The Tundra was the second full-size pickup to be built by a Japanese manufacturer, but the Tundra was the first full-size pickup from a Japanese manufacturer to be built in North America. The Tundra was nominated for the North American Truck of the Year award and was Motor Trend magazine's Truck of the Year in 2000 and 2008. Initially built in a new Toyota plant in Princeton, Indiana, production was consolidated in 2008 to Toyota's San Antonio, Texas, factory.
MotorWeek is an American television news magazine program that focuses on the automotive industry. The program is produced by Maryland Public Television for PBS, and airs on MAVTV. As of September 2023, MotorWeek is underwritten by Tire Rack, an online tire retailer, and the Auto Value/Bumper To Bumper auto parts distribution network.
Motor Trend is an American automotive television network owned by Motor Trend Group, a subsidiary of Hearst Magazines. It primarily broadcasts automotive-themed programming, including motorsports events.
The Land Rover Range Rover Evoque, also known as the Range Rover Evoque or the Land Rover Evoque, is a subcompact luxury crossover SUV developed and produced by Jaguar Land Rover under their Land Rover marque. The original Evoque was a development of the Land Rover LRX concept vehicle, which was unveiled at the North American International Auto Show in January 2008. The first generation Evoque was produced from July 2011 until 2018 in three and five-door versions, with both two-wheel and four-wheel drive. The second generation of the car went into production in 2018.
Four Wheeler was a magazine for 4×4 SUVs and off-road truck enthusiasts, with the first issue being published in February of 1962. Four Wheeler focused on new vehicles, project vehicles, technical aspects of assembling a vehicle, product tests, outdoor equipment and machines, 4x4 shows and competitions, and travel.
Petersen's 4-Wheel & Off-Road was an automobile magazine dedicated to 4x4 and off-road trucks and SUVs. The first issue was published in 1977; it began as a special-interest publication from the editors of Hot Rod magazine. 4-Wheel & Off-Road covered a range of topics for the do-it-yourself light-truck enthusiast, including real-world 4x4 performance modifications, new products and product evaluations, off-road event coverage, new-vehicle evaluations, travel, and lifestyle. In March 1978, the magazine officially became a monthly publication, and in 2013, 4-Wheel & Off-Road celebrated its 35th anniversary. It was published by the Motor Trend Group. On December 6, 2019, magazine-publishing industry news outlet Folio: reported the magazine was among 19 publications to be discontinued by Motor Trend Group by the end of 2019.
Diesel Power is an American automotive magazine that focuses on interests in heavily modifying trucks, SUVs, and cars powered by diesel engines. The original tagline for the magazine called it "The Voice of the Turbodiesel Enthusiast" and it’s now "The World’s Largest Diesel Magazine." As of January 2012, the magazine has certified circulation of more than 135,000 per month according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations.
The First Hawaiian MotorCon is an annual auto show held every year between the middle week of March and the first week of April in Honolulu, Hawaii. The event takes place at the Hawaii Convention Center, whose location site was once the location of a Chevrolet dealership, Aloha Motors. The event, affiliated with the Motor Trend regional auto show circuit since 2000, is produced by the Hawaii Automotive Dealers Association (HADA) and sponsored by First Hawaiian Bank, with the Honolulu Star-Advertiser serving as the media sponsor. The recent event, going into its 42nd year, was planned for March 27-29, 2020. Hawaii Governor David Ige announced at his press conference March 17, that he is closing the Hawaii Convention Center for 30 days to limit social contact in light of recent community spread of Covid-19 virus infections. The auto show was cancelled for 2020, but returned for February 2022.
Motor Trend Group, LLC is a media company that specializes in enthusiast brands, such as Motor Trend and Hot Rod. Headquartered in El Segundo, California, it was a subsidiary of the TNT Sports division of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) until being sold to Hearst Communications in 2024.
The Mercedes-Benz X-Class (W470) is a pickup truck that was sold by the German automaker Mercedes-Benz, a division of German multinational company Daimler AG. Unveiled at a world premiere in Cape Town, South Africa in July 2017, the pickup took its chassis from the Nissan Navara and employed many Mercedes-specific features and technologies, including some engines not shared with the Navara. It first went on sale in late 2017.
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