Hearst Magazines, which publishes Car and Driver, Road & Track, and Popular Mechanics (among other legacy publications), just announced its acquisition of MotorTrend Group. That includes, of course, MotorTrend, plus Hot Rod, Roadkill, and Automobile among others. This is a huge development in the automotive media world and an unprecedented consolidation of automotive publications.
The news dropped today in a press release from Hearst, which described its purchase from previous-owner Warner Bros. Discovery as “MotorTrend and a diversified portfolio of automotive digital, direct-to-consumer, social, print and live-event brands.” That would indicate that the offline aspects (events like Roadkill Nights) of the operation will continue to exist in some form. The release also stated that the publication’s offices in El Segundo, CA, and Detroit, MI would remain open but didn’t specify what the staffing situation might be.
The price paid for the deal was not disclosed, either.
This is unexpected news but not entirely shocking—it’s no secret that Warner Bros. Discovery has had a rough time lately. But as car enthusiasts and longtime consumers of car media, it’s interesting to see every legendary outlet being rolled into one company.
What this truly means for the readers and the industry in general remains to be seen, but you can bet we’ll be watching.
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