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 July 2015 issue highlighting the magazine's 60th anniversary | |
| Categories | Automobile |
|---|---|
| Frequency | Monthly (1955–2024) Bimonthly (2024–present) |
| Total circulation (2024) | 405,092[1] |
| First issue | July 1955; 70 years ago (1955-07) (as Sports Cars Illustrated) |
| Company | Hearst Communications |
| Country | United States, Switzerland, Italy, United Kingdom, France, Spain |
| Based in | Ann Arbor, Michigan |
| Language | English (US, Middle East), Chinese (China), Portuguese (Brazil), Greek (Greece) and Spanish (Spain) |
| Website | www |
| ISSN | 0008-6002 |
Car and Driver (CD orC/D) is an Americanautomotive enthusiastmagazine first published in 1955. In 2006 its totalcirculation was 1.23 million.[2] It is owned byHearst Magazines, who purchased it from its prior ownerHachette Filipacchi Media U.S. in 2011. It was founded asSports Cars Illustrated.[3] The magazine is based inAnn Arbor, Michigan.[4]
| Issues | Owner |
|---|---|
| Jul 1955 – Feb 1956 | Motor Publications |
| Mar 1956 – Apr 1985 | Ziff Davis |
| May 1985 – Dec 1987 | CBS Magazines |
| Jan 1988 – Apr 1988 | Diamandis Communications |
| Apr 1988 – May 2011 | Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. |
| May 2011 – Present | Hearst Communications |
Car and Driver was formed asSports Cars Illustrated in 1955.[5] In its early years, the magazine focused primarily on small, importedsports cars. In 1961, editorKarl Ludvigsen renamed the magazineCar and Driver to show a more general automotive focus.[6]
Car and Driver once featuredBruce McCall,[7]Jean Shepherd,[8] andBrock Yates[9] as columnists, andP. J. O'Rourke as a frequent contributor.[10] Former editors include William Jeanes andDavid E. Davis, Jr., the latter of whom led some employees to defect in 1985 to createAutomobile.
When CBS acquired Ziff Davis' consumer magazines in 1985,[11] the company decided to keep bothCar and Driver and existing CBS automobile magazine,Road & Track. Successive owners keep this arrangement.
Rather than electing aCar of the Year,Car and Driver publishes its top ten picks each year in itsCar and Driver 10Best.
Car and Driver is home to theJohn Lingenfelter Memorial Trophy. This award is given annually at theirSupercar Challenge.
Currently,[when?]Car and Driver is also published in Germany, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Spain. The Spanish version just makes use of theCar and Driver name; no editorial direction is shared. China had an edition called名车志 Car and Driver (transl. Quality Automotive Magazine "Car and Driver").[12] The Middle Eastern edition is issued byITP Publishing based in Dubai.
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Mar 2009 – April 2019 | Eddie Alterman |
| April 2019 – Jan 2022 | Sharon Silke Carty |
| Feb 2022 – | Tony Quiroga |
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 theFord Focus andChevrolet Corvette.
The magazine has been at the center of a few controversies based on this editorial direction, including the following:
The magazine is widely known for an often irreverent tone, especially regarding cars it considers inferior. The magazine also frequently touches on politics. The editorial slant of the magazine is decidedly pro-automobile.
Car and Driver operates a website that features articles (both original and from print), a blog, an automotive buyer's guide (with AccuPayment, a price-calculating tool), and a social networking site called Backfires. As had occurred with other online auto magazines, Car and Driver first suspended its popular Backfires column in 2020; then, did make a partial effort in 2021 to continue with readers' comments, but eventually found, like the other magazines, the effort was too costly and often too divisive.
Car and Driver Television was the television counterpart that formerly aired onTNN/SpikeTV'sPowerblock weekend lineup from 1999 to 2005. It was produced by RTM Productions and hosted by Jim Scoutten—who also hostedAmerican Shooter, another RTM production—until 2003.[16]
Thereafter the usual host was Larry Webster, one of the magazine's editors, withCsaba Csere adding occasional commentary and news.
In 1993,Car and Driver licensed its name for aPC game toElectronic Arts entitledCar and Driver. The game was in 3D, and the courses includedracing circuits, an oval track, automobile route racing with traffic, adragstrip, and anautocross circuit.
The ten vehicles included thePorsche 959,Ferrari F40,Lotus Esprit,Eagle Talon, and theFerrari 512.
In the 1970s, to celebrate the Interstate Highway System and to protest speed limits, reporter Brock Yates and editor Steve Smith conceived the idea of an unsanctioned, informal race across the country, replicating the 53.5-hour transcontinental drive made by car and bike pilotErwin George "Cannonball" Baker in 1933. The New York to Los AngelesCannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash, later shortened to the "Cannonball Run", was staged in 1971, 1972, 1975 and 1979, with the race entries including both amateur drivers and professional racers, such asDan Gurney (who with Brock Yates "won" the 1971 event driving a Ferrari 365 GTB/4, making the 2,860 miles (4,600 km) journey in under 36 hours).
The stunt served as the inspiration for several Hollywood blockbusters, such asThe Gumball Rally,The Cannonball Run,Cannonball Run II,Cannonball Run III,Gone in 60 Seconds andThe Fast and the Furious franchise.[citation needed]
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