Car and Driver
Encyclopedia
Car and Driver is an American
automotive
enthusiast magazine
. Its total circulation is 1.31 million. It is owned by Hearst Magazines, who purchased prior owner Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S.
in 2011. Originally headquartered in New York City
, the magazine has been based in Ann Arbor, Michigan
since the late 1970s.
Car and Driver was founded as Sports Cars Illustrated in 1955. In its early years, the magazine focused primarily on small, imported sports car
s. In 1961, editor Karl Ludvigsen
renamed the magazine Car and Driver to show a more general automotive focus. 2005 marked the 50th anniversary of Car and Driver .
Car and Driver once featured Bruce McCall
, Jean Shepherd
, Dick Smothers
, and Brock Yates
as columnists, and PJ O'Rourke as a frequent contributor. Former editors include William Jeanes and David E. Davis
, the latter of whom led some employees to defect in order to create Automobile Magazine
.
Rather than electing a Car of the Year
, Car and Driver publishes its top ten picks each year in its Car and Driver 10Best.
Car and Driver is home to the John Lingenfelter
Memorial Trophy. This award is given annually at their Car and Driver Supercar Challenge
.
Today, Car and Driver is also published in Spain
. The spanish version just makes use of the Car and Driver name, no editorial direction is shared.
The magazine is notable for its irreverent tone and habit of "telling it like it is", especially with regard to underperforming automobiles ("Saturn folks like to point out that the L200
has little in common with the Opel Vectra
from which it borrows some platform architecture, and we have to wonder why. Could the Opel be worse?"—Feb 2003). The magazine also frequently delves into controversial issues, especially in regard to politics. The editorial slant of the magazine is decidedly pro-automobile. A major theme of Patrick Bedard’s
articles in the past year has been climate change, specifically that it is not occurring, or if it is, then automobiles have nothing to do with it. In similar fashion, the letters editor states in the May 2007 issue that "going to a caveman lifestyle is the only way to cut CO2 emissions." However, the intrusion of politics into editorial columns rarely intrudes into reviews of cars themselves or feature articles. For example, the columnists have been highly critical of SUVs on the basis that minivans or car-based utes are almost always better, more drivable choices.
The magazine was one of the first to be unabashedly critical of the American automakers. However, it has been quick to praise noteworthy efforts like the Ford Focus and Chevrolet Corvette
.
The magazine has been at the center of a few controversies based on this editorial direction, including the following:
Car and Driver and Road & Track
are sister publications at Hearst and have for many years shared the same advertising, sales, marketing, and circulation departments. However, their editorial operations are distinct and they have separate publishers.
counterpart that formerly aired on SpikeTV's Powerblock
weekend lineup from 1999 to 2005. It was produced by RTM Productions and usually hosted by Larry Webster, one of the magazine's editors, with Csaba Csere
adding occasional commentary and news.
game to Electronic Arts
entitled Car and Driver: The Ten Best. The game was in 3D, and the courses included twisty racing circuits, an oval, automobile route racing with traffic, a drag strip
, and an autocross
circuit.
The ten vehicles included the Porsche 959
, Ferrari F40
, Lotus Esprit, Eagle Talon
, and classic Ferrari 512
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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...
. Its total circulation is 1.31 million. It is owned by Hearst Magazines, who purchased prior owner Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S.
Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S.
Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., Inc. , orgin ally known as CBS Publications, was a subsidiary of Hachette Filipacchi Médias , and was based in New York City.-History:...
in 2011. Originally headquartered in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, the magazine has been based in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
since the late 1970s.
History
| Issues | Owner |
|---|---|
| Jul 1955 – Feb 1956 | Motor Publications |
| Mar 1956 – Apr 1985 | Ziff-Davis |
| May 1985 – Dec 1987 | CBS CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of... Magazines |
| Jan 1988 – Apr 1988 | Diamandis Communications |
| Apr 1988 – May 2011 | Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., Inc. , orgin ally known as CBS Publications, was a subsidiary of Hachette Filipacchi Médias , and was based in New York City.-History:... |
| May 2011 - Present | Hearst Magazines |
Car and Driver was founded as Sports Cars Illustrated in 1955. In its early years, the magazine focused primarily on small, imported sports car
Sports car
A sports car is a small, usually two seat, two door automobile designed for high speed driving and maneuverability....
s. In 1961, editor Karl Ludvigsen
Karl Ludvigsen
Karl Ludvigsen . Cum Laude graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy and attended both the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, studying engineering, and Pratt Institute where he matriculated in industrial design...
renamed the magazine Car and Driver to show a more general automotive focus. 2005 marked the 50th anniversary of Car and Driver .
Car and Driver once featured Bruce McCall
Bruce McCall
Bruce McCall is a Canadian author and illustrator, best known for his frequent contributions to The New Yorker.Born and raised in Simcoe, Ontario, Canada, he was fascinated by comic books and showed an early aptitude for drawing fantastical flying machines, blimps, bulbous-nosed muscle cars and...
, Jean Shepherd
Jean Shepherd
Jean Parker Shepherd was an American raconteur, radio and TV personality, writer and actor who was often referred to by the nickname Shep....
, Dick Smothers
Dick Smothers
Richard Remick "Dick" Smothers is an American actor, comedian, composer and musician. He is best known for being half of the musical comedy team, the Smothers Brothers, with his older brother Tom.-Life and career:...
, and Brock Yates
Brock Yates
Brock Yates is an American journalist and author. He was longtime executive editor of Car and Driver, an American automotive magazine. He was a pit reporter for CBS' coverage of certain NASCAR Sprint Cup series races in the 1980s, including the Daytona 500...
as columnists, and PJ O'Rourke as a frequent contributor. Former editors include William Jeanes and David E. Davis
David E. Davis
David Evan Davis, Jr. was an automotive journalist and magazine publisher widely known as a contributing writer, editor and publisher at Car and Driver magazine and as the founder of Automobile magazine....
, the latter of whom led some employees to defect in order to create Automobile Magazine
Automobile Magazine
Automobile magazine is an automobile magazine in the United States and is owned by Source Interlink. It was founded by a group of former employees of Car and Driver magazine, led by that publications’s former editor, David E. Davis, and originally published by News Corporation...
.
Rather than electing a Car of the Year
Car of the Year
Car of the Year is a phrase usually considered to have been invented by Motor Trend magazine in the 1950s for their annual award for best American automobile...
, Car and Driver publishes its top ten picks each year in its Car and Driver 10Best.
Car and Driver is home to the John Lingenfelter
John Lingenfelter
John Lingenfelter was an NHRA driver, engineer and legendary tuner....
Memorial Trophy. This award is given annually at their Car and Driver Supercar Challenge
Car and Driver Supercar Challenge
Car and Driver is home to the John Lingenfelter Memorial Trophy. This award is given annually at their Supercar/Superfour Challenge.* 2001 Winner - 2000 Lingenfelter Twin-Turbo Corvette Stage II* 2002 Winner - 2000 Lingenfelter Twin-Turbo Corvette Stage II...
.
Today, Car and Driver is also published in 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...
. The spanish version just makes use of the Car and Driver name, no editorial direction is shared.
Editorial direction
| Issues | Editor |
|---|---|
| Jul 1955 – Nov 1955 | George Parks |
| Dec 1955 – Feb 1956 | Arthur Kramer |
| Mar 1956 – Dec 1956 | Ken Purdy |
| Jan 1957 – Nov 1959 | John Christy |
| Dec 1959 – Jan 1962 | Karl Ludvigsen |
| Feb 1962 – Feb 1963 | William Pain |
| Mar 1963 – Jan 1966 | David E. Davis, Jr. |
| Feb 1966 – Oct 1966 | Brock Yates Brock Yates Brock Yates is an American journalist and author. He was longtime executive editor of Car and Driver, an American automotive magazine. He was a pit reporter for CBS' coverage of certain NASCAR Sprint Cup series races in the 1980s, including the Daytona 500... |
| Nov 1966 – Jan 1968 | Steve Smith |
| Feb 1968 – Dec 1969 | Leon Mandel |
| Jan 1970 – Mar 1971 | Gordon Jennings |
| Apr 1971 – Nov 1974 | Bob Brown |
| Dec 1974 – Sep 1976 | Stephan Wilkinson |
| Oct 1976 – Oct 1985 | David E. Davis, Jr. |
| Nov 1985 – Feb 1988 | Don Sherman |
| Mar 1988 – May 1993 | William Jeanes |
| Jun 1993 – Dec 2008 | Csaba Csere Csaba Csere Csaba Csere is a former technical director and editor-in-chief of Car and Driver magazine.Csere is an American of Hungarian descent. He earned a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1975. He went on to join Ford Motor Company's Advanced... |
| Mar 2009 – | Eddie Alterman |
The magazine is notable for its irreverent tone and habit of "telling it like it is", especially with regard to underperforming automobiles ("Saturn folks like to point out that the L200
Saturn L-series
The Saturn L-Series was a line of automobiles sold by General Motors' Saturn marque.The L-Series mid-size sedans and station wagons were introduced in 2000. They were based on the Opel Vectra B and manufactured at a GM plant in Wilmington, Delaware...
has little in common with the Opel Vectra
Opel Vectra
The Opel Vectra is a large family car that was engineered and produced by Opel. In the United Kingdom, the car was sold under the Vauxhall marque as the Vauxhall Cavalier and later as the Vauxhall Vectra, from 1995 onwards...
from which it borrows some platform architecture, and we have to wonder why. Could the Opel be worse?"—Feb 2003). The magazine also frequently delves into controversial issues, especially in regard to politics. The editorial slant of the magazine is decidedly pro-automobile. A major theme of Patrick Bedard’s
Patrick Bedard
Patrick Bedard , is an American automobile racing driver and journalist.In the 70's, Car and Driver magazine challenged its readers to series of Sports Car Club of America sanctioned, 25-lap Showroom Stock Sedan races. In the Car and Driver SS/Sedan Challenge II, Bedard finished first driving...
articles in the past year has been climate change, specifically that it is not occurring, or if it is, then automobiles have nothing to do with it. In similar fashion, the letters editor states in the May 2007 issue that "going to a caveman lifestyle is the only way to cut CO2 emissions." However, the intrusion of politics into editorial columns rarely intrudes into reviews of cars themselves or feature articles. For example, the columnists have been highly critical of SUVs on the basis that minivans or car-based utes are almost always better, more drivable choices.
The magazine was one of the first to be unabashedly critical of the American automakers. However, it has been quick to praise noteworthy efforts like the Ford Focus and Chevrolet Corvette
Chevrolet Corvette
The Chevrolet Corvette is a sports car by the Chevrolet division of General Motors that has been produced in six generations. The first model, a convertible, was designed by Harley Earl and introduced at the GM Motorama in 1953 as a concept show car. Myron Scott is credited for naming the car after...
.
The magazine has been at the center of a few controversies based on this editorial direction, including the following:
- Their instrumented testing is extremely rigorous compared with other automotive magazines. It has twice revealed false power claims by manufacturers: Both the 1999 SVT Mustang CobraFord MustangThe Ford Mustang is an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company. It was initially based on the second generation North American Ford Falcon, a compact car. Introduced early on April 17, 1964, as a "1964½" model, the 1965 Mustang was the automaker's most successful launch since the Model A...
and 2001 Mazda Miata tests showed these vehicles not producing performance equivalents to their claimed power output. In both cases, the manufacturers' claims were proved wrong, forcing buybacks and apologies.
- Their tests of radar detectorRadar detectorA radar detector is an electronic device used by motorists to detect if their speed is being monitored by police or law enforcement using a radar gun. Most radar detectors are used so the driver can reduce the car's speed before being ticketed for speeding...
s often declare the Valentine OneValentine OneThe Valentine One Radar Locator is a combined radar detector and lidar detector designed by Michael Valentine, formerly of Cincinnati Microwave, Inc., and manufactured by Valentine Research, Inc. The detector is notable for its patented warning system, which indicates the number of radar and laser...
detector, a major Car and Driver advertiser, the total point winner. The magazine contends that its tests are accurate, while some question its objectivity. Yet, other major advertisers, such as Escort, the winner of C/D's sister pub radar detector test, usually finishes alongside the V1 in the same test.
Car and Driver and Road & Track
Road & Track
Road & Track is an American automotive enthusiast magazine. It is owned by Hearst Magazines, and is published monthly. The editorial offices are located in Newport Beach, California.-History:...
are sister publications at Hearst and have for many years shared the same advertising, sales, marketing, and circulation departments. However, their editorial operations are distinct and they have separate publishers.
Car and Driver Television
Car And Driver Television was the televisionTelevision
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
counterpart that formerly aired on SpikeTV's Powerblock
Powerblock
Powerblock is a weekend television programming lineup that airs on Spike TV consisting of how-to automotive shows. The current host of the Powerblock is Courtney Hansen. Previous hosts were IRL driver Danica Patrick and entertainer/model Michelle Spaziano...
weekend lineup from 1999 to 2005. It was produced by RTM Productions and usually hosted by Larry Webster, one of the magazine's editors, with Csaba Csere
Csaba Csere
Csaba Csere is a former technical director and editor-in-chief of Car and Driver magazine.Csere is an American of Hungarian descent. He earned a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1975. He went on to join Ford Motor Company's Advanced...
adding occasional commentary and news.
Car and Driver computer game
In 1993, Car and Driver licensed its name for a PCPersonal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
game to Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
entitled Car and Driver: The Ten Best. The game was in 3D, and the courses included twisty racing circuits, an oval, automobile route racing with traffic, a drag strip
Drag strip
Drag strip may refer to:*Dragstrip, track used for drag racing*Drag Strip , Transformer character who is one of the Stunticons*Videocart-9: Drag Strip, drag racing videogame released in 1976-See also:*Dover Drag Strip...
, and an autocross
Autocross
Autocross is a form of motorsports that emphasizes safe competition and active participation. An autocross is a timed competition where drivers navigate one at a time through a defined course on either sealed or unsealed surfaces...
circuit.
The ten vehicles included the Porsche 959
Porsche 959
The Porsche 959 is a sports car manufactured by Porsche from 1986 to 1989, first as a Group B rally car and later as a legal production car designed to satisfy FIA homologation regulations requiring that a minimum number of 200 street legal units be built....
, Ferrari F40
Ferrari F40
The Ferrari F40 is a mid-engine, rear-wheel drive, two-door coupé sports car produced by Ferrari from 1987 to 1992 as the successor to the Ferrari 288 GTO. From 1987 to 1989 it was Ferrari's fastest, most powerful, and most expensive car...
, Lotus Esprit, Eagle Talon
Eagle Talon
The Eagle Talon was one of three model names given to a sports coupe that was manufactured between 1990 and 1999 and sold by the then Chrysler Corporation and Mitsubishi Motors of Japan in a joint 50/50 corporate venture known as Diamond-Star Motors...
, and classic Ferrari 512
Ferrari 512
Ferrari 512 S was the designation of 25 five litre sports cars built until January 1970, related to the Ferrari P sports prototypes. The V12-powered cars were entered in the 1970 International Championship for Makes by the factory Scuderia Ferrari and private teams...
.