Editing Car and Driver

{{Short description|American automotive magazine}}
{{more citations needed|date=June 2018}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox magazine
| title              = Car and Driver
| logo               = Car and Driver logo.svg
| image_file         = Car and driver july 2015 60th anniversary.png
| image_caption      = July 2015 issue highlighting the magazine's 60th anniversary
| publisher          = 
| total_circulation  = 405,092<ref>{{cite web |url=https://abcas3.auditedmedia.com/ecirc/magtitlesearch.asp |title=AAM: Total Circ for Consumer Magazines |publisher=[[Audit Bureau of Circulations (North America)|Audit Bureau of Circulations]] |access-date=2025-03-29 }}</ref>
| circulation_year   = 2024
| frequency          = Monthly (1955-2024)<br />Bimonthly (2024-present)
| language           = English (US, Middle East), Chinese (China), Portuguese (Brazil), Greek (Greece) and Spanish (Spain)
| category           = [[Automobile]]
| editor             =
| editor_title       =
| company            = [[Hearst Communications]]
| firstdate          = {{start date and age|1955|7|df=yes}} (as Sports Cars Illustrated)
| country            = United States, Switzerland, Italy, United Kingdom, France, Spain
| based              = Ann Arbor, Michigan
| website            = {{URL|https://www.caranddriver.com}}
| issn               = 0008-6002
}}

'''''Car and Driver''''' ('''''CD''''' or '''''C/D''''') is an American [[automobile|automotive]] enthusiast [[magazine]] first published in 1955. In 2006 its total [[Magazine circulation|circulation]] was 1.23 million.<ref>[http://www.magazine.org/circulation/circulation_trends_and_magazine_handbook/22175.cfm Circulation Trends Handbook] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070714071411/http://www.magazine.org/circulation/circulation_trends_and_magazine_handbook/22175.cfm |date=July 14, 2007 }}</ref> It is owned by [[Hearst Communications|Hearst Magazines]], who purchased it from its prior owner [[Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S.]] in 2011. It was founded as  ''Sports Cars Illustrated.'' <ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/30/business/30roush.html|title=Gerald Roush, 68, Fount of Ferrari Knowledge - Obituary (Obit) - NYTimes.com|last=Weber|first=Bruce|newspaper=The New York Times|date=29 May 2010|access-date=2020-02-21}}</ref> The magazine is based in [[Ann Arbor, Michigan]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.mlive.com/ann_arbor_business_review/2008/03/car_and_driver_cruising_to_new.html|author=Alexander J. Drukas |date=March 6, 2008|title=Car and Driver cruising to new Ann Arbor offices|work=Booth Newspapers}}</ref>

==History==
{| class="wikitable floatleft" align=left
!Issues!!Owner
|-
|+Ownership
|-
|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 as ''Sports Cars Illustrated'' in 1955.<ref>{{cite web|title=Top 100 U.S. Magazines by Circulation|url=http://www.psaresearch.com/images/TOPMAGAZINES.pdf|work=PSA Research Center|access-date=February 6, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161115225953/http://www.psaresearch.com/images/TOPMAGAZINES.pdf|archive-date=November 15, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.hemmings.com/stories/article/karl-ludvigsen|author=Mark J. McCourt|date=January 2019|title=Karl Ludvigsen|work=Hemmings Classic Car}}</ref>

''Car and Driver'' once featured [[Bruce McCall]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.caranddriver.com/author/2362/bruce-mccall/|title=Bruce McCall|work=Car and Driver}}</ref>  [[Jean Shepherd]],<ref name="Bergmann">{{cite book|last1=Bergmann|first1=Eugene|title=Excelsior, You Fathead!: The Art and Enigma of Jean Shepherd|date=November 1, 2004|publisher=[[Hal Leonard Corporation]]|location=[[Winona, Minnesota]]|isbn=978-1-55783-600-7|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/excelsioryoufath00berg}}</ref> and [[Brock Yates]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.caranddriver.com/author/219213/brock-yates/|title=Brock Yates|work=Car and Driver}}</ref>  as columnists, and [[P. J. O'Rourke]] as a frequent contributor.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a15142347/ferrari-reinvents-manifest-destiny-pj-orourke-and-a-ferrari-308gts-archived-feature/|author=P.J. O'Rourke|date=February 16, 2022|title=Ferrari Reinvents Manifest Destiny: P.J. O'Rourke Drives Cross-Country in a Ferrari 308GTS|work=Car and Driver}}</ref>  Former editors include William Jeanes and [[David E. Davis, Jr.]], the latter of whom led some employees to defect in 1985 to create ''[[Automobile (magazine)|Automobile]]''.

When CBS acquired Ziff Davis' consumer magazines in 1985,<ref>{{cite journal |date=February 1985 |title=CBS + Ziff = huge |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3065/is_v14/ai_3627670/ |url-status=dead |journal=Folio |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120710202741/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3065/is_v14/ai_3627670/ |archive-date=July 10, 2012 |access-date=December 16, 2011}}</ref> the company decided to keep both ''Car and Driver'' and existing CBS automobile magazine, ''[[Road & Track]]''. Successive owners keep this arrangement.

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'' 10Best]].

''Car and Driver'' is home to the [[John Lingenfelter]] Memorial Trophy. This award is given annually at their [[Car and Driver Supercar Challenge|Supercar Challenge]].

Currently,{{when|date=May 2020}} ''Car and Driver'' is also published in Germany, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Spain. The Spanish version just makes use of the ''Car and Driver'' name; no editorial direction is shared. China had an edition called ''名车志 Car and Driver'' ({{Translation|Quality Automotive Magazine "Car and Driver"}}).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hearst.com.cn/brand/caranddriver/|title=Car and Driver名车志 - 赫斯特集团网站}}</ref> The Middle Eastern edition is issued by [[ITP Media Group|ITP Publishing]] based in Dubai.

==Editorial direction==
{| class="wikitable floatright" align=right
!Issues!!Editor
|-
|+Editors{{clarify|date=April 2013|reason=ed in chief or managing ed?}}
|-
|Jul 1955 – Nov 1955||George Parks
|-
|Dec 1955 – Feb 1956||Arthur Kramer
|-
|Mar 1956 – Dec 1956||[[Ken Purdy (writer)|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 –   || [https://www.hearst.com/-/tony-quiroga-named-editor-in-chief-of-car-and-driver 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 the [[Ford Focus (North America)|Ford Focus]] and [[Chevrolet Corvette]].

The magazine has been at the center of a few controversies based on this editorial direction, including the following:

* Their instrumented testing twice revealed false power claims by manufacturers: Both the 1999 [[Ford Mustang|SVT Mustang Cobra]] 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.
* In its Sept. 1990 issue, reviewers operated a [[EMD SD60|GM-EMD SD60]] and saw how a locomotive was made and test one out before it was delivered to the [[Kansas City Southern Railway]].<ref>https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a43643175/1990-general-motors-electro-motive-sd-60-locomotive-drive/ Handles like it's on rails: We Drive a locomotive, Rich Ceppos September 1990 Car and Driver Retrieved 11/23/24</ref>
* In its February 1968 issue, [[Cook Neilson]] authored a scathing review of the 1968 [[Opel Kadett B|Kadett LS 1.5L wagon]]. The vehicle, which by many accounts was a moderately well-executed example in its class, received a singly critical and extensively negative review from Nielson, with [[General Motors]] subsequently pulling its advertising from the magazine. Paul Niedermeyer, editor of the automotive history site ''Curbside Classics'' and managing editor at [[The Truth About Cars]],<ref>{{cite web
 |title        = Paul Niedermeyer Becomes TTAC Managing Editor
 |publisher    = The Truth About Cars
 |author       = Paul Niedermeyer
 |date         = November 23, 2009
 |url          = https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2009/11/paul-niedermeyer-becomes-ttac-managing-editor/}}</ref> would later call the review "sophmoric" and "blantantly contrived." Author Marty Padgett, in his book "50 Years With Car and Driver,” recounted that the magazine's editor at the time, Leon Mandel, had wanted a diatribe in order to increase the magazine's relevance.<ref>{{cite web
 |title        = The Opel Kadett Asassination – By Car and Driver
 |publisher    = Curbside Classic
 |author       = Paul Niedermeyer
 |date         = April 29, 2022
 |url          = https://www.curbsideclassic.com/automotive-histories/the-opel-kadett-asassination-by-car-and-driver/}}</ref>

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.

== Website ==
''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''==
''Car and Driver Television'' was the television counterpart that formerly aired on [[The Nashville Network|TNN]]/[[Paramount Network#Spike (2003–2018)|SpikeTV]]'s ''[[Powerblock]]'' weekend lineup from 1999 to 2005. It was produced by RTM Productions and hosted by Jim Scoutten—who also hosted ''[[PowerNation#American Shooter|American Shooter]]'', another RTM production—until 2003.<ref>{{cite web|title=Radio, TV, Changes, Yates: The Steering Column |url=https://www.caranddriver.com/features/columns/a15135102/csaba-csere-radio-tv-changes-yates-column/ |last=Csere |first=Csaba |author-link=Csaba Csere |date=1 February 2003 |website=caranddriver.com |access-date=5 July 2021 |publisher=Heart Autos, Inc.}}</ref>

Thereafter the usual host was Larry Webster, one of the magazine's editors, with [[Csaba Csere]] adding occasional commentary and news.

== ''Car and Driver'' computer game ==
In 1993, ''Car and Driver'' licensed its name for a [[Personal computer|PC]] game to [[Electronic Arts]] entitled ''[[Car and Driver (video game)|Car and Driver]]''. The game was in 3D, and the courses included [[racing circuit]]s, an oval track, automobile route racing with traffic, a [[dragstrip]], and an [[autocross]] circuit.

The ten vehicles included the [[Porsche 959]], [[Ferrari F40]], [[Lotus Esprit]], [[Eagle Talon]], and the [[Ferrari 512]].

== The "Cannonball Run" ==
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 pilot [[Erwin Baker|Erwin George "Cannonball" Baker]] in 1933. The New York to Los Angeles [[Cannonball 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 as [[Dan Gurney]] (who with Brock Yates "won" the 1971 event driving a Ferrari 365 GTB/4, making the {{convert|2860|mi}} journey in under 36 hours).

The stunt served as the inspiration for several Hollywood blockbusters, such as ''[[The Gumball Rally]]'', ''[[The Cannonball Run]]'', ''[[Cannonball Run II]]'', ''[[Speed Zone|Cannonball Run III]]'', ''[[Gone in 60 Seconds (2000 film)|Gone in 60 Seconds]]'' and ''[[The Fast and the Furious]]'' franchise.

==See also==
* [[Philip Llewellin]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.caranddriver.com/ Car and Driver USA]
* [https://www.hearst.com.cn/en/brand/caranddriver/ Car and Driver China Daily] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221015054720/https://www.hearst.com.cn/en/brand/caranddriver/ |date=2022-10-15 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120616193816/http://caranddriverbrasil.uol.com.br/ Car and Driver Brazil]
* [https://www.caranddriver.gr/ Car and Driver Greece]
* [https://www.caranddriver.com/es/ Car and Driver Spain]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061020162551/http://www.magsdirect.com/caranddriver-magazine.html Car and Driver Magazine's history, features, and demographics]
* [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0433280/ Car and Driver Television at IMDB]

{{Hearst}}

[[Category:Automobile magazines published in the United States]]
[[Category:Monthly magazines published in the United States]]
[[Category:Hearst Communications publications]]
[[Category:Magazines established in 1955]]
[[Category:Magazines published in Michigan]]
[[Category:1955 establishments in New York City]]
[[Category:Magazines published in New York City]]
[[Category:Multilingual magazines]]
[[Category:Mass media in Ann Arbor, Michigan]]