Motor Trend is one of the oldest automobile magazines still publishing. It first appeared in September 1949, issued by Petersen Publishing Company in Los Angeles, and bearing the tag line The Magazine for a Motoring World. Today it is published by Source Interlink and boasts a paid monthly circulation of over one million readers. One of the earliest and most enduring of the magazine's creations was its Car of the Year award, given almost continuously since its inception, although the phrase itself would not become entrenched until well into the 50s. (The first winner was the 1949 Cadillac.) The award has gone through several splits and permutations over the years, being called the Golden Wheels Award for a while in the 70s 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 Motor Trend brand has expanded considerably over the years, and today includes radio programs, 17 auto shows, Truck Trend magazine, Motor Trend en Español magazine, the 2006 Folio Award winning Motor Trend Classic, and Web sites to complement each print title. The magazine also issues accolades for car care products, and licenses its name out to car-related goods ranging from oil filters, ipod and cellular accessories to sunglasses. In 1999, it produced a coffee table book to celebrate its 50th anniversary. Motor Trend and Hot Rod founder Robert E. Petersen (Petersen died March 23, 2007) was instrumental in establishing the Petersen Automotive Museum, now considered one of Los Angeles' major tourist attractions.
Editorial direction
Motor Trend is one of the more popular automobile magazines, with writing that tends to be more accessible than its enthusiast-oriented competitors. Under past leadership, the magazine received criticism for the positive tone of the writing, with some observing that the magazine never had anything bad to say about any car. Today, the segment-leading title is considered to judge all cars equally, under the current leadership of former Car magazine Editor-in-Chief Angus MacKenzie. In the minds of some, it has swapped the "more critical" mantle with competitior Car and Driver, and has particularly taken a stance against badge engineering, repeatedly saying that "it fools no one". Motor Trend is best known for its annual Car of the Year award that is recognized as the most important award in the automotive industry. The current editor-in-chief is Angus MacKenzie who was born/raised in Australia. Members of the Los Angeles editorial staff include executive editor Matt Stone, Arthur St. Antoine (formerly of Car and Driver), Kim Reynolds (formerly of Road and Track), Allyson Harwood, Ron Kiino (formerly of Car and Driver), and Ed Loh (formerly of Sport Compact Car). The Detroit editorial staff comprises Frank Markus (formerly of Car and Driver) and Todd Lassa (formerly of Auto Week). The magazine's new look is credited to creative director Andy Foster (a native of England) and assistant art director Mike Royer, along with staff photographers John Kiewicz (formerly of Car Craft and the staff driver with numerous speed world records), Brian Vance, and Julia LaPalme (graduate of Brooks Institute of Photography). Motor Trend has recently made a push to expand its website to compete with other automotive websites. Led by online editor Michael Floyd, the website is strongly promoting "being there" in-car videos along with many editor-written daily blogs. Bob Long is the host of Motor Trend Radio and Jeff Bressler the News Director and Anchor. The show airs on Saturday and Sunday and is syndicated in more than 110 US markets, broadcast on Sirius (channel 122) and XM (channel 166) satellite radio, and podcast from iTunes. Motor Trend had different iterations of a television show that aired on TNN, Spike TV, and SPEED, but currently the TV show is not produced.
External links
- Motor Trend home page
- Motor Trend Forums
- Motor Trend auto shows
- Truck Trend home page
- Motor Trend Classic home page
- Motor Trend page at Primedia
- Petersen Automotive Museum
- ISSN 0027-2094
 Motor Trend cover featuring Marlin |
