Motor Trend Magazine

What Motor Trend Magazine does

MotorTrend is a digital automotive media brand owned by Hearst Autos, Inc., a subsidiary of Hearst Media. The company publishes car news, expert reviews, first drives, comparison tests, and long-term evaluations through motortrend.com, supported by video content on YouTube, the InEVitable podcast, daily email newsletters (MotorTrend Daily and HOT ROD), and a physical magazine. Its core platform combines editorial content with two proprietary consumer tools: the MT Ultimate Car Rankings, a vehicle scoring system across 12+ categories (SUVs, hybrids, trucks, luxury, EVs, sports cars, sedans, coupes, hatchbacks, convertibles, vans), and the Car Finder tool, which lets users filter by price, body style, make, model, and year. The brand also operates authoritative annual awards including Car of the Year, Truck of the Year, and SUV of the Year.

The company monetizes through four revenue streams: digital advertising, newsletter subscriptions, print magazine publishing, and licensing and content rights managed through Hearst Autos. It serves four primary customer segments: car enthusiasts seeking expert reviews, vehicle buyers actively researching purchases, luxury vehicle shoppers, and auto industry followers tracking news and auto shows. The platform extends into vertical sub-brands within the Hearst Autos portfolio, including Automobile Magazine, Truck Trend, Four Wheeler, Super Street, and HOT ROD, giving the company niche reach across truck, off-road, customization, and heritage car audiences. Geographic focus is North America (USA), though content distribution through YouTube and coverage of international auto shows (Goodwood, Beijing) extends reach globally.

The business is a privately held subsidiary under Hearst Media with no public listing, no venture capital funding, and no revenue disclosed in the source material. Product offerings are concentrated in content marketing and buyer-research utilities, with no developer-facing API, no mobile app, and no documented AI/ML capabilities. Strategic direction is characterized by editorial brand extension, multi-channel audience expansion (video, podcast, newsletter), and product-surface additions (Car Finder, ranking system) rather than platform or technology pivots.

Name

Motor Trend Magazine

Legal name

Hearst Autos, Inc.

Website

https://motortrend.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1949

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

MotorTrend is a Hearst-owned automotive media brand delivering car news, expert reviews, vehicle rankings, and a Car Finder tool via its website, YouTube, podcast, newsletters, and print magazine to car enthusiasts and vehicle buyers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Palm Coast

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations

Revenue model

1. Digital Advertising: The website displays advertisements and sponsored content to generate advertising revenue
2. Newsletter Subscriptions: MotorTrend offers newsletter subscriptions including MotorTrend Daily and HOT ROD newsletters with curated automotive content delivered to subscribers
3. Magazine Publishing: Physical magazine publication with automotive news, reviews, and features
4. Licensing and Content Rights: The MotorTrend brand and content is licensed through Hearst Autos for various uses including events and partnerships

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

MotorTrend is an automotive media brand that publishes daily car news, in-depth vehicle reviews, first drives, comparison tests, and long-term evaluations. It operates the proprietary MT Ultimate Car Rankings system scoring vehicles across 12+ categories, the Car Finder research tool for vehicle search and comparison, and a multi-channel content ecosystem including a print magazine, website, YouTube channel, podcasts (The InEVitable), and email newsletters under parent company Hearst Autos, Inc.

Product overview

MotorTrend is a comprehensive automotive media platform offering car news, expert reviews, vehicle rankings, and buying tools. The core offerings include daily news coverage, detailed vehicle reviews (first drives, first tests, comparisons, long-term tests), the proprietary MT Ultimate Car Rankings scoring system, and a Car Finder tool for vehicle research. Additional services include newsletter subscriptions (MotorTrend and HOT ROD), auto show event coverage, and buyer's guides. The platform also encompasses sub-brands Automobile Magazine, Truck Trend, Four Wheeler, and Super Street.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• MotorTrend MT Ultimate Car Rankings: Vehicle ranking system covering multiple categories including SUVs, hybrid cars, crossovers, trucks, luxury cars, electric cars, sports cars, sedans, coupes, hatchbacks, convertibles, and vans

Products and services

• MotorTrend Car News Daily automotive news coverage including breaking news, industry updates, and expert analysis of new vehicle announcements and market trends. Available globally through the motortrend.com website for car enthusiasts and industry followers.
• MotorTrend Car Reviews In-depth vehicle reviews, first drives, first tests, comparison tests, and long-term vehicle evaluations with expert editorial analysis. Targeted at car enthusiasts and vehicle buyers seeking trustworthy expert assessments.
• MT Ultimate Car Rankings MotorTrend's proprietary vehicle scoring and ranking system covering 12+ vehicle categories including SUVs, Hybrid Cars, Crossovers, Trucks, Luxury, Electric Cars, Sports Cars, Sedans, Coupes, Hatchbacks, Convertibles, and Vans. Used by car buyers to identify top-rated vehicles in each segment.
• Car Finder Tool Interactive vehicle search and comparison tool enabling users to filter cars by price range, body style, make, model, year, and MT Score ratings. Designed for vehicle buyers actively researching or planning a purchase.
• MotorTrend Newsletters Email newsletter subscriptions delivering curated car news, reviews, and expert analysis directly to subscribers' inboxes. Includes MotorTrend Daily and the HOT ROD newsletter for automotive enthusiasts.
• Auto Shows Coverage Event-based automotive coverage of major auto show reveals, concept vehicles, and industry announcements from events including Goodwood Festival of Speed, Beijing Auto Show, and New York Auto Show. Targeted at auto industry followers and enthusiasts.
• MotorTrend Buyer's Guide Vehicle purchasing guidance and car-buying advice including best vehicle lists, reliability comparisons, and trim-level recommendations. Targeted at consumers planning a vehicle purchase.
• MotorTrend Print Magazine Physical magazine publication with automotive news, reviews, and features distributed via newsstands, subscriptions, and retail channels in the United States. Targeted at automotive enthusiasts who prefer print content.
• MotorTrend YouTube Channel Video content channel featuring vehicle reviews, comparison tests, first drives, and automotive analysis distributed globally via YouTube. Provides multimedia coverage for car enthusiasts.
• The InEVitable Podcast Automotive podcast covering car audio, EV topics, and industry interviews, distributed globally via podcast platforms. Targets car enthusiasts interested in automotive culture and technology.
• Automobile Magazine (Sub-brand) Automotive publication covering news, reviews, and car rankings as part of the Hearst Autos portfolio under MotorTrend. Acquired brand retained as a separate publication within the group.
• Truck Trend (Sub-brand) Truck-focused automotive publication under the MotorTrend/Hearst Autos portfolio. Acquired brand retained as a separate publication covering trucks and truck culture.
• Four Wheeler (Sub-brand) Off-road and 4x4 vehicle publication under the MotorTrend/Hearst Autos portfolio. Acquired brand retained as a separate publication covering off-road vehicle culture.
• Super Street (Sub-brand) Automotive customization and performance culture publication under the MotorTrend/Hearst Autos portfolio. Acquired brand retained covering tuner, import, and performance car culture.
• HOT ROD (Sub-brand) Classic car and automotive culture publication originating since 1948, retained under the MotorTrend/Hearst Autos portfolio. Covers customizing, racing, and wrenching content across print and newsletter formats.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Hearst AutoscoreOthersHearst Autos is the parent company of MotorTrend, managing digital media operations and publishing. MotorTrend is described as 'A Part of Hearst Digital Media' and operates under Hearst Autos Inc.
• JBL AudiominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMotorTrend's podcast The InEVitable featured an interview with Rishi Daftuar, chief engineer of JBL Automotive, discussing car audio optimization. References Toyota and JBL's 30-year partnership in car audio systems.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Car and Driver: Car and Driver is Hearst Autos' flagship automotive publication alongside MotorTrend, offering vehicle reviews, rankings, comparison tests, and buying advice to the same car enthusiast and buyer audience. Directly competes for automotive advertising and audience share.
• Edmunds: Edmunds is a leading automotive research and reviews platform that competes directly with MotorTrend's car finder tool and editorial reviews for vehicle-buyer attention and OEM advertising budgets.
• Autoblog: Autoblog is a digital-first automotive news and reviews site covering new car launches, reviews, and industry news, directly competing with MotorTrend for enthusiast readers and ad revenue.
• Road & Track: Road & Track is a Hearst-owned automotive publication that directly competes with MotorTrend across vehicle reviews, motorsport coverage, and enthusiast content, despite shared corporate ownership.
• Kelley Blue Book: Kelley Blue Book (owned by Cox Automotive) provides vehicle reviews, pricing research, and car rankings to a buyer-intent audience similar to MotorTrend's, competing for both ad revenue and SEO-driven buyer traffic.
• Cars.com: Cars.com is an automotive marketplace with a sizable editorial reviews and rankings operation that competes with MotorTrend for vehicle-buyer audiences and dealer/OEM marketing spend.
• CarGurus: CarGurus operates an automotive listings marketplace combined with editorial reviews and rankings, competing with MotorTrend for buyer-intent traffic and automotive advertising dollars.
• Jalopnik: Jalopnik is a digital automotive media outlet covering news, reviews, and enthusiast culture, directly overlapping with MotorTrend's content mix and target audience.
• Top Gear: Top Gear is a globally recognized automotive media brand with reviews, video, and editorial content targeting the same enthusiast buyer audience as MotorTrend, though with stronger UK/European reach.

Emerging players

• The Drive: The Drive is a digital-native automotive media outlet focused on reviews, news, and enthusiast culture. It competes for a younger, digital-first audience with overlapping editorial categories to MotorTrend.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/motortrend
• Facebookfacebook.com/motortrendmag
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/3293063

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Motor Trend Magazine