Road & Travel Magazine

Last updated
Road & Travel Magazine
American-woman-motorscene-covers.jpg
American Woman Motorscene covers
Editor-in-ChiefCourtney Caldwell [1]
CategoriesAutomobile, Travel, Climate Change Issues, Personal Safety on the Road
FrequencyMonthly
PublisherCaldwell Communications, Inc.
Year founded1989
Final issue2000 (print)
CompanyCaldwell Communications, Inc.
CountryUnited States
Based in Los Angeles, CA
Language English
Website Road & Travel Magazine

Road & Travel Magazine (RTM) is an online magazine focusing on automotive, travel, climate change and personal safety issues with a slant towards women. The magazine has its headquarters in Los Angeles, CA. [2]

Contents

History

Road & Travel Magazine was founded in 1989 by Courtney Caldwell [1] [3] under the name American Woman Motorscene. AWM was the first magazine to address the women's automotive market. [4] Pursuing a connection between auto and travel, editors began adding travel content to expand the magazine's audience. In 2000, AWM became one of the first print publications to transition to an online format. At that time, changed the name to American Woman Road & Travel to more accurately reflect the magazine's editorial content. As the online version began to gain reader traction worldwide, American Woman was dropped from the title to avoid alienation of non-US and male readership, finally resulting in Road & Travel Magazine, a title that more accurately reflected its lifestyle content to a worldwide audience with an interest in automotive, travel, climate and personal safety topics. In 2008, RTM added a section dedicated to environmental topics as they related to auto and travel. In 2017, RTM further expanded its content to include the RV and Camping lifestyle markets.

Editorial direction

Road & Travel's primary target audience is women between 25 and 59. Caldwell's editorial vision for RTM was an automotive magazine for the average consumer, one that was not geared toward car enthusiasts, therefore making it the rare lifestyle magazine that targets everyday "in-market" consumers—those looking for information on purchasing autos, trip planning, and safety on the road.

Awards

International Car of the Year Awards In 1996, Road & Travel Magazine launched its annual International Car of the Year Awards (ICOTY) honoring ten new vehicles in ten categories for the upcoming new model year. ICOTY awards became the first awards to honor new vehicles from a theme that reflected lifestyle and life stage; focusing on the emotionally compelling experience consumers have during car buying and ownership. The categories that make up the ICOTY awards are:

Qualifications include vehicles manufactured by American, British, German, Japanese, Korean and Swedish automakers but are sold in America. In order to achieve a balanced perspective on voting that reflects all consumers, not just one gender, RTM engages a diverse group of 12 men and women renowned automotive journalists from the U.S. and Canada in the voting process. This jury of respected writers represents such publications as the Robb Report , Edmunds.com, Winding Road, MSN Autos, [5] AutoWeek, [6] NY Times, and Autoline Detroit. [7] J.D. Power and Associates tabulates votes to ensure credibility and validity. The annual event takes place in Detroit at the onset of press week for the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS). The event is televised by the local CBS affiliate, WWJ-TV and is presented as a TV special on opening weekend of the NAIAS to consumers.

Lifetime Achievement Award In 2004, Road & Travel Magazine introduced an award to honor automotive journalists who have achieved a lifetime of contributions to the automotive industry. The award was designed to acknowledge the talents of those journalists whose lifetime of contributions have helped enrich the world of automobiles. Past recipients include: Denise McCluggage, [8] Jerry Flint, David E. Davis, Jr. and Jim Dunne. (In 1958, McCluggage appeared as a guest challenger on the TV panel show "To Tell The Truth".)

Related Research Articles

North American International Auto Show Annual auto show in Detroit, Michigan

The North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) is an annual auto show held in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., at TCF Center. The show was held in January from 1989 to 2019, but will be held in September from 2021 onwards. It is among the largest auto shows in North America. UPI says the show is "regarded as the foremost venue for [car] manufacturers to unveil new products".

<i>Autoweek</i>

Autoweek is a car culture publication based in Detroit, Michigan. It was first published in 1958 and in 1977 the publication was purchased by Crain Communications Inc, its current parent company. The magazine was published twice a month and focused on motor sports, new car reviews, and old cars, events and DIY. Autoweek now publishes Autoweek.com. Autoweek is owned by Crain Communications Inc., publisher of leading industry trade publications Advertising Age and Automotive News, among others, and is based in Detroit, Michigan.

Honda Ridgeline

The Honda Ridgeline is a pickup truck manufactured by Honda. The Ridgeline is one of only two pickup trucks currently produced by the Honda—the other being the Honda Acty mini-truck. The Ridgeline is built using a unibody frame, a transverse-mounted engine, and is only offered in a crew-cab short-box configuration with one powertrain.

<i>MotorWeek</i> American public television program

MotorWeek is an American news and information program centered around automobiles. The subject matter presented includes tests of cars currently on the market, along with tips on maintenance and previews of cars to come.

Pebble Beach Concours dElegance Annual classic automobile show held in Pebble Beach, California

The Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance is an automotive charitable event held each year on the Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, California, considered the most prestigious event of its kind. It is the finale of Monterey Car Week held in August every year. A Concours d'Elegance is an event open to both prewar and postwar collector cars in which they are judged for authenticity, function, history, and style. Classes are commonly arranged by type, marque (manufacturer), coachbuilder, country of origin, or time period. Judges select first-, second-, and third-place finishers for each class in the event, and the judges confer the "Best of Show" award on one car from the group of first-place winners. In addition, a group of honorary judges—individuals who have made significant contributions to the automotive industry or motorsports—award a number of subjective awards to recognize standout vehicles regardless of class ribbons, as well as memorial awards created to honor specific automotive industry personages. Approximately 15,000 spectators attend the event.

PowerNation is an American automotive how-to enthusiast television program that began originally as PowerBlock. The programming is produced by Gray Television, which purchased the assets of PowerNation's former owner Raycom Media in 2019. PowerNation consists of a block of automotive enthusiast shows including Engine Power, XOR, Truck Tech, and Detroit Muscle. PowerNation airs on the History Channel and NBCSN, and also features content on its own through a digital media player app available on the Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV and Roku platforms.

International Car of the Year

The International Car of the Year (ICOTY) awards are one of several annual "car of the year" awards around the world for new automobile models judged to be the best of their generation. This one is presented by the United States magazine Road & Travel Magazine. Awards are given under ten different categories to new vehicles manufactured internationally and available on the US market. The awards ceremony is attended by 600 industry leaders and media on the evening before Press Days at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS). The awards have been presented annually since 1997.

Edmunds.com Inc. is an American online resource for automotive information. The company is headquartered in Santa Monica, California, and maintains an office in downtown Detroit, Michigan. Edmunds is privately held, with CarMax holding a minority stake.

Lou Ann Hammond has worked in the energy and transportation fields. She worked at Chevron Corp. in finance and accounting from 1978 to 1986. Hammond was exposed to the accounting, selling, management, and transportation of petroleum and all the alternative energies Chevron explored for during the turbulent 1970s.

Helene Rother

Helene Rother (1908–1999) was the first woman to work as an automotive designer when she joined the interior styling staff of General Motors in Detroit in 1943. She specialized in designs for automotive interiors, as well as furniture, jewellery, fashion accessories, and stained glass windows.

ZAP Alias

The ZAP Alias Roadster is a plug-in electric three-wheeled sports car, from the American electric car maker ZAP in Santa Rosa – California, project initiated in 2007 through a collaboration between ZAP and Lotus Engineering, the UK-based automotive engineering company, who is assisting with the development of the vehicle.

Edward T. Welburn

Edward T. Welburn is an automobile designer and former General Motors' Vice President of Global Design, a role in which he served from 2003 to 2016 and the same position that Harley Earl and Bill Mitchell once held.

<i>Car Design News</i>

Car Design News (CDN) is an online news and information service for the international automotive design community. CDN covers production and concept cars, the career moves of significant car designers, major international auto shows, design competitions and student exhibitions at the major transportation design colleges. It is based in the UK and published by Ultima Media, part of German publisher Süddeutscher Verlag.

The automotive industry crisis of 2008–2010 was a part of the financial crisis of 2007–2008 and the resulting Great Recession. The crisis affected European and Asian automobile manufacturers, but it was primarily felt in the American automobile manufacturing industry. The downturn also affected Canada by virtue of the Automotive Products Trade Agreement.

Denise McCluggage was an American auto racing driver, journalist, author and photographer. McCluggage was a pioneer of equality for women in the U.S., both in motorsports and in journalism. She was born in El Dorado, Kansas, and spent her childhood in that state. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Mills College in Oakland, California. She began her career as a journalist at the San Francisco Chronicle.

Washington Auto Show

The Washington Auto Show (WAS) is an annual local auto show held in Washington, D.C. at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center usually in late January. It is among the largest auto shows in North America, trailing only the North American International Auto Show in Detroit (NAIAS), the LA Auto Show, the New York International Auto Show (NYIAS) and the Chicago Auto Show in size. It is sometimes also referred to as the D.C. Auto Show. The event has evolved to emphasize and showcase the latest innovations in sustainable automotive technologies. Since 2008 the winners of the Green Car Vision Award are announced during the show.

EyesOn Design are a series of events including an annual car show and a fundraiser for the Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology. It has become a national event focused on the emotion and character of automotive design.

Chrysler Pacifica (minivan)

The Chrysler Pacifica is a minivan being produced by the Chrysler division of FCA US LLC. Despite sharing its name with a discontinued crossover, it is an all-new design replacing the Chrysler Town & Country.

Dodge Tomahawk

The Dodge Tomahawk is a non–street legal concept vehicle introduced by Dodge at the 2003 North American International Auto Show that was subsequently produced and sold in very small numbers. The Tomahawk attracted significant press and industry attention for its striking design, its outsize-displacement, 10-cylinder car engine, and its four close-coupled wheels, which give it a motorcycle-like appearance. Experts disagreed on whether it is a true motorcycle. The Retro-Art Deco design's central visual element is the 500-horsepower (370 kW), 8.3-litre (510 cu in) V10 SRT10 engine from the Dodge Viper sports car. The Tomahawk's two front and two rear wheels are sprung independently, which would allow it to lean into corners and countersteer like a motorcycle.

References

  1. 1 2 "Courtney Caldwell. Editor-in-chief of the magazine". Women Drivers. Retrieved November 14, 2015.
  2. "Public Relations". Road & Travel. Retrieved November 14, 2015.
  3. "Courtney Caldwell". Roadandtravel.com. Retrieved January 30, 2011.
  4. "Magazine founder". Roadandtravel.com. Retrieved January 30, 2011.
  5. "MSN Autos". MSN. February 22, 2010. Retrieved January 30, 2011.[ permanent dead link ]
  6. "AutoWeek". Autoweek. Retrieved January 30, 2011.
  7. "Autoline Detroit". Autolink. Retrieved January 30, 2011.
  8. Denise McCluggage, TheCarConnection.com Archived February 13, 2007, at the Wayback Machine