''MotorTrend'' is an American automobile magazine. It first appeared in September 1949, and designated the first
Car of the Year Car of the Year (COTY) is a common abbreviation for numerous automotive awards.
The "Car of the Year" phrase is considered to have been introduced by ''Motor Trend'' magazine in 1949 when the new publication named Cadillac as Motor Trend Car of the ...
, also in 1949.
Petersen Publishing Company in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
published ''MotorTrend'' until 1998, when it was sold to British publisher
EMAP, who then sold the former Petersen magazines to
Primedia
Primedia is a South African media group, headquartered in Sandton, Johannesburg.
History
Primedia was established in 1994 and its listing on the JSE Securities Exchange was completed in April 1995. Primedia remained listed on the JSE until 1 O ...
in 2001. MotorTrend bears the tagline "The Magazine for a Motoring World". As of 2019 it is published by
Motor Trend Group
Motor Trend Group, LLC, formerly known as Source Interlink Media and TEN: The Enthusiast Network, is a media company that specializes in enthusiast brands, such as ''Motor Trend'', ''Hot Rod'', and ''Roadkill''. Headquartered in New York City, ...
. It has a monthly circulation of over one million.
Contents and sections
The contents of ''MotorTrend'' magazines are divided up into sections, or departments.
Road tests
''MotorTrend'' magazine provides its readers with written "road tests" of vehicles. These road tests are published monthly, 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.
Vehicle comparisons
There are two main types of ''MotorTrend'' vehicle comparisons. Regular comparisons usually compare two to three vehicles, looking at what each is like to own, drive, etc. On MotorTrend's YouTube channel (titled "MotorTrend Channel"), MotorTrend 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
''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.
''MotorTrend'' Garage
''MotorTrend'' keeps a fleet of long-term test cars at their headquarters in
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
. The majority of the ''MotorTrend'' 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 features
Other types of articles are sometimes featured in the ''MotorTrend''
magazine. There is typically one special feature per month. For example, in one issue of the magazine, there may be a special feature about ''MotorTrend''s "Real MPG" testing. For these tests, ''MotorTrend'' measures the "real-world" fuel economy of a vehicle in a number of conditions, and then compares their results to the
EPA
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it be ...
estimated fuel economy that manufacturers provide dealerships, who then provide it to their customers.
''Motor Trend'' Car of the Year
![Volt Volt MT COTY WAS 2011 838](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/Volt_Volt_MT_COTY_WAS_2011_838.JPG)
One of the earliest and most enduring of the magazine's creations was its
Car of the Year Car of the Year (COTY) is a common abbreviation for numerous automotive awards.
The "Car of the Year" phrase is considered to have been introduced by ''Motor Trend'' magazine in 1949 when the new publication named Cadillac as Motor Trend Car of the ...
award, given almost continuously since 1949,
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
A V8 engine is an eight-cylinder piston engine in which two banks of four cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration.
The first V8 engine was produced by the French Antoinette company in 1904, developed and u ...
; while the company initially turned down the award from the brand new magazine, it now proudly references its COTY wins in publicity materials. 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
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.
Background
''Motor Trend'', which debuted in 1 ...
, 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.
New car guides
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
A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and two doors.
The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the French past parti ...
, etc.) for the next coming
calendar year, whilst in October the magazine looks at
off-roader
An off-road vehicle, sometimes referred to as an overland or adventure vehicle, is considered to be any type of vehicle which is capable of driving on and off paved or gravel surface. It is generally characterized by having large tires with dee ...
s,
MPVs and
sport-utility vehicle
A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a car classification that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive.
There is no commonly agreed-upon definiti ...
s (SUVs).
Offshoots
''Truck Trend''
''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. ''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
Motor Trend Group, LLC, formerly known as Source Interlink Media and TEN: The Enthusiast Network, is a media company that specializes in enthusiast brands, such as ''Motor Trend'', ''Hot Rod'', and ''Roadkill''. Headquartered in New York City, ...
ceased publication during that month.
''Motor Trend Classic''
''Motor Trend Classic'', which took a break from publishing in the late 2000s, was restarted in 2010. It includes articles about significant classic cars from around the world made during the last 60 years. Publication was later suspended again, and as of 2014, ''Motor Trend Classic'' was no longer being published.
Motor Trend On Demand
''Motor Trend On Demand'' is an online television service. It features television series from ''Motor Trend'', ''
Automobile Magazine
''Automobile'' was an American automobile magazine published by the Motor Trend Group. A group of former employees of ''Car and Driver'' led by David E. Davis founded ''Automobile'' in 1986 with support from Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, u ...
'',
''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
GT World Challenge Europe (known as the Blancpain GT Series between 2014 and 2019) is a sports car racing series organised by SRO Motorsports Group. It features grand tourer racing cars modified from production road cars complying with the FIA's GT ...
,
Pirelli World Challenge
The GT World Challenge America is a North American auto racing series launched in 1990 by the Sports Car Club of America. It has been managed by the Stephane Ratel Organisation since 2018, and has been sanctioned by the United States Auto Club si ...
,
Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters
The Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM, German Touring Car Masters) is a grand touring car series sanctioned by ITR e.V. who have been affiliated to the DMSB- FIA since 1984. The series is based in Germany, with rounds elsewhere in Europe. The s ...
,
V8 Supercars
The Supercars Championship is a touring car racing category in Australia, running as an International Series under Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) regulations, governing the sport.
Supercars events take place in all Australian ...
,
British Touring Car Championship
The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom, currently organised and administered by TOCA. It was established in 1958 as the British Saloon Car Championship and was renamed as ...
,
TCR International Series,
FIA European Formula 3 Championship,
European Le Mans Series
The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the ...
,
Australasian Safari,
Motoamerica
MotoAmerica is the organization that promotes the AMA Superbike Series since 2015. Sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) and the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM), it features six classes of road racing: S ...
,
Endurance FIM World Championship
The Endurance World Championship ( FIM EWC) is the premier worldwide endurance championship in motorcycle road racing. The championship season consists of a series of endurance races (with a duration of six, eight, twelve or twenty-four hours) h ...
,
Motocross World Championship
FIM Motocross World Championship is the premier championship of motocross racing, organized by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM), divided into two distinct classes: MXGP and MX2. Race duration is 30 minutes plus two laps per ...
,
AMA EnduroCross Championship The AMA EnduroCross Championship is an endurocross championship held in North America since 2007. It is held in stadiums or arenas, recreating enduro obstacles such as rocks, boulders and logs.
Motorsport promoters Eric Peronnard and Tim Clark orga ...
, and
FIM SuperEnduro World Championship The FIM SuperEnduro World Championship is an endurocross series held primarily in Europe since 2007. It is held from October to March, during the Northern Hemisphere winter and the Enduro World Championship off-season. Circuits are built inside st ...
.
Motor Trend Network
In April 2018, following the acquisition of a majority stake in TEN by
Discovery Communications
Discovery, Inc. was an American multinational mass media factual television conglomerate based in New York City. Established in 1985, the company operated a group of factual and lifestyle television brands, such as the namesake Discovery Chan ...
, it was announced that its U.S. cable channel Velocity would rebrand as
Motor Trend
''MotorTrend'' is an American automobile magazine. It first appeared in September 1949, and designated the first Car of the Year, also in 1949.
Petersen Publishing Company in Los Angeles published ''MotorTrend'' until 1998, when it was sold to ...
Network later in the year.
Italy
In
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
, the channel
Motor Trend
''MotorTrend'' is an American automobile magazine. It first appeared in September 1949, and designated the first Car of the Year, also in 1949.
Petersen Publishing Company in Los Angeles published ''MotorTrend'' until 1998, when it was sold to ...
began broadcasting on April 29, 2018 at 6:00 am with the
Car Crash TV in place of
Focus
Focus, or its plural form foci may refer to:
Arts
* Focus or Focus Festival, former name of the Adelaide Fringe arts festival in South Australia Film
*''Focus'', a 1962 TV film starring James Whitmore
* ''Focus'' (2001 film), a 2001 film based ...
, whose brand has meanwhile passed into the hands of
Mediaset.
Used car warranty
In 2009, ''Motor Trend'' introduced a certified used car program,
beginning with dealers in
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...
and
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wi ...
. As explained in their press release, the program is powered by EasyCare.
References
External links
''Motor Trend'' Official website''Truck Trend'' home page
{{Source Interlink
Motor Trend Group
Automobile magazines published in the United States
Monthly magazines published in the United States
Magazines established in 1949
Magazines published in Los Angeles
1949 establishments in California
Turner Sports