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Motor Trend



 
 
Motor Trend is an automobile magazine. It first appeared in September 1949, issued by Petersen Publishing Company in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles is the largest city in the U.S. state of California and the List of United States cities by population in the United States. Often abbreviated as L.A. and nicknamed The City of Angels, Los Angeles is rated as a beta global city, has an estimated population of 3.8 million and spans over in Southern California....
, and bearing the tag line The Magazine for a Motoring World. Petersen Publishing was sold to British publisher EMAP
EMAP

EMAP is a United Kingdom media company, specialising in the production of business-to-business magazines, and the organisation of business events and conferences....
 in 1998, who sold the former Petersen magazines to Primedia
Primedia

PRIMEDIA Inc., , formerly known as K-III Communications, is the #1 print and online publisher and distributor of advertising-supported consumer guides in the U.S....
 in 2001. Today it is published by Source Interlink, who purchased the magazine in 2007.






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Motor Trend is an automobile magazine. It first appeared in September 1949, issued by Petersen Publishing Company in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles is the largest city in the U.S. state of California and the List of United States cities by population in the United States. Often abbreviated as L.A. and nicknamed The City of Angels, Los Angeles is rated as a beta global city, has an estimated population of 3.8 million and spans over in Southern California....
, and bearing the tag line The Magazine for a Motoring World. Petersen Publishing was sold to British publisher EMAP
EMAP

EMAP is a United Kingdom media company, specialising in the production of business-to-business magazines, and the organisation of business events and conferences....
 in 1998, who sold the former Petersen magazines to Primedia
Primedia

PRIMEDIA Inc., , formerly known as K-III Communications, is the #1 print and online publisher and distributor of advertising-supported consumer guides in the U.S....
 in 2001. Today it is published by Source Interlink, who purchased the magazine in 2007. It 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
Motor Trend Car of the Year

In the USA, Motor Trend magazine was the first to give a Car of the Year award, doing so to Cadillac in 1949 . It has since expanded the award category to include the Truck and SUV of the Year, awarding these separately from the 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
Cadillac

Cadillac is a luxury vehicle marque owned by General Motors. Cadillac vehicles are sold in over 50 countries and territories, mainly in the United States, Canada, and Mexico....
.) 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 and 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 Espaņol magazine, Motor Trend Korea, Motor Trend China, Motor Trend Indonesia, 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
Robert E. Petersen

Robert Einar "Pete" Petersen was an United States publisher and founder of the Petersen Automotive Museum in 1994. Petersen was born in East Los Angeles and served in the United States Army Air Corps in World War II....
 (Petersen died March 23, 2007) was instrumental in establishing the Petersen Automotive Museum
Petersen Automotive Museum

The Petersen Automotive Museum is located on Wilshire Boulevard along Museum Row in the Miracle Mile, Los Angeles, California neighborhood of Los Angeles....
, now considered one of Los Angeles' major tourist attractions.

Editorial direction

The current editor-in-chief is Angus MacKenzie who was born/raised in Australia (previously editor of UK dealer magazine AM and Car. 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 resident of Australia) and Assistant Art Director Mike Royer, along with staff photographers Brian Vance and Julia LaPalme.

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 (including a YouTube channel) along with many editor-written daily blogs. The online team consists of Rory Jurnecka, Kirill Ougarov, Nate Martinez, Scott Evans, Melissa Spiering, Carlos Lago, and Zach Gale (part-time).

Award-winning broadcaster/auto journalist 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.

New Car Guides

The magazine releases a special edition every September and October listing the latest new vehicles. In September the issue looks at the latest automobiles for the next coming calendar year
Calendar year

According to the Gregorian calendar, the calendar year begins on January 1 and ends on December 31.Generally speaking, a calendar year begins on the New Year of the given calendar system and ends on the day before the following New Year's day....
, whilst in October the magazine looks at off-roaders, MPV
MPV

MPV may refer to:* Multi-purpose vehicle, a type of automobile also known as a minivan* Mazda MPV, a multi-purpose vehicle* mine protected vehicle...
s and sport-utility vehicles.

Pre-owned Car Warranty

In 2009, Motor Trend introduced a certified used car program, beginning with Union
Union City, New Jersey

Union City is a City in Hudson County, New Jersey, New Jersey, United States. According to the United States 2000 Census, the city had a total population of 67,088, living on a land area of 3.28 km? ....
, NJ, Honda
Honda

is a multinational corporation headquartered in Japan.The company manufactures automobiles, motorcycles, trucks, scooter , robots, jet aircrafts and jet engines, all-terrain vehicle, water craft, electrical generators, marine engines, lawn and garden equipment, and aeronautical and other mobile technologies....
 dealer Planet Honda. As explained in their press release, the program is powered by EasyCare.

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