---
title: "MotorTrend Acquired by Hearst, Owner of Car and Driver, Road & Track"
date: "2024-12-12"
modified: "2024-12-12"
authors:
  - name: "Andrew P. Collins"
    job_title: "Executive Editor"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/andrew-p-collins"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/motortrend-acquired-by-hearst-owner-of-car-and-driver-road-track"
categories:
  - "News"
---

# MotorTrend Acquired by Hearst, Owner of Car and Driver, Road & Track

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/car-mag-consolidation.jpg>)
*\<em\>Getty/TheDrive\</em\>*

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](<https://www.hearst.com/-/hearst-magazines-acquires-motortrend-group?p_l_back_url=%2Fnews%2Fpress-releases&p_l_back_url_title=Press+Releases>), 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](<https://www.motortrend.com/roadkillnights-2024/>)) 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](<https://thedepauw.com/warner-bros-discovery-losses-and-controversies/>) 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.

*Got any thoughts about this mass consolidation of car media? Drop the author a line at andrew.collins@thedrive.com*

## Author
As Executive Editor, Andrew touches everything on the site from daily news coverage to feature stories, sponsored content, product reviews, road testing vehicles, ecommerce, and more. He's held pretty much every role there is to have at an automotive news site and has been with The Drive's publisher Recurrent since 2020. Andrew's a lifetime gearhead and longtime writer with a particularly strong penchant for road trips, off-road adventures, and archaic vehicles. His passions outside of the automotive world include skiing, obsolete video games, and his dog Bramble who occationally helps review cars.

### Author social links  
[Instagram](<https://instagram.com/andrewatlarge>)  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewpetercollins/>)