Car Magazine
Encyclopedia
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
automotive
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
enthusiast magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
published monthly by Bauer Automotive
Bauer Verlagsgruppe
The Bauer Media Group is a large German publishing company based in Hamburg, which operates in 15 countries worldwide. Since the company was founded in 1875, it has been privately-owned and under management by the Bauer family. It was formerly called Heinrich Bauer Verlag KG, abbreviated to HBV...
. International editions are published by Bauer Automotive in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
(under the title Cars), Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
(under the title topcar), Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
and Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. A Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese counterpart, , is published by Neko Publishing.
Car features a regular group test under the 'Giant Test' name, which was originally developed by the magazine in the 1970s. It also features 'newcomer' first drives of new cars, interviews with significant figures in the motor industry and other features.
History
The magazine was launched in 1962 as Small Car and Mini Owner incorporating Sporting Driver . It was renamed as Car in 1965. In the 1960s Car pioneered the 'Car of The Year' (COTY) competition that was subsequently decided by motoring journalists on a Europe wide basis. In the 1970s and '80s Car was far ahead of other motoring magazines for the quality and depth of its writing, artwork and photography. Significant contributors during the magazine's heyday included Henry Manney III, Douglas Blain, George Bishop, L. J. K. SetrightL. J. K. Setright
Leonard John Kensell Setright was an English motoring journalist and author.Born of Australian parents in London, his father Henry Roy Setright, was an engineer who invented the Setright ticket machine used on buses and trams. Setright studied Law at the University of London and practised for a...
, Ronald Barker, Mel Nichols, Steve Cropley, Russell Bulgin
Russell Bulgin
Russell Bulgin was an automotive journalist.He worked for many of the world's leading magazines including Evo, Car, Autocar, Cars and Car Conversions, Motor Sport and also newspapers such as the Daily Telegraph...
, Philip Llewellin
Philip Llewellin
Phil Llewellin was a British journalist and writer. Born in Oswestry, Shropshire, he was educated at Oswestry School and Wycliffe College, Gloucestershire....
, James May
James May
James Daniel May is an English television presenter, journalist and writer. He is best known for his role as co-presenter of the award-winning motoring programme Top Gear alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond....
, Alexei Sayle
Alexei Sayle
Alexei David Sayle is a British stand-up comedian, actor and author. He was a central part of the alternative comedy circuit in the early 1980s. He was voted the 18th greatest stand-up comic on Channel 4's 100 Greatest Stand-ups in 2007...
and Rowan Atkinson
Rowan Atkinson
Rowan Sebastian Atkinson is a British actor, comedian, and screenwriter. He is most famous for his work on the satirical sketch comedy show Not The Nine O'Clock News, and the sitcoms Blackadder, Mr. Bean and The Thin Blue Line...
. L. J. K. Setright in many insightful series of articles, linked the development and history of the motor car to its social, technological and historical contexts. Car was also renowned for its 'scoop' photos and drawings and took delight in the irritation it caused to car manufacturers by revealing significant new models ahead of time.
From 1991 to 2007, Car was published by Emap
EMAP
Emap Limited is a British media company, specialising in the production of business-to-business magazines, and the organisation of business events and conferences...
. In March 2009 the magazine's listings section (which gives details of new cars on sale in the UK) reverted to the name 'The Good, The Bad and The Ugly' – which it had used when it was created in the early 1970s – after an absence of nearly three years.
Sales
Car's sales have suffered from a steady decline since peaking in the mid-1990s. Car currently sells around 72,000 copies a month, ranking fourth in the UK motoring monthly segment (behind Top Gear, What Car? and Evo).Editors
- 2006–present: Phil McNamara
- 2004-2006: Jason BarlowJason BarlowJason Barlow is a motoring journalist and broadcaster from Northern Ireland.He began his television career in 1998, when he was approached to present Channel Four's new car programme Driven, with co-presenters Mike Brewer and James May...
- 2002-2004: Angus MacKenzie
- 1999-2002: Greg Fountain
- 1997-1999: Rob Munro-Hall
- 1994-1997: Gavin Green
- 1993: Mark Gillies
- 1992-1993: Richard Bremner
- 1987-1992: Gavin Green
- 1981-1987: Steve Cropley (two issues were edited by Rob Golding in 1985)
- 1974-1981: Mel Nichols
- 1971-1974: Ian Fraser
- 1963-1971: Douglas Blain
- 1963-1964: Nigel Lloyd
- 1962-1963: George Bishop