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Motor Trend Magazine Plans Year-Long 50th Anniversary Celebration

4 November 1998

Motor Trend Magazine Plans Year-Long 50th Anniversary Celebration

    LAS VEGAS, Nov. 3 -- Lee Kelley, President of Motor Trend
magazine, today announced the kick off to a year-long celebration of the
publication's 50th anniversary.
    Begun in September 1949 as an upscale companion publication to Hot Rod
magazine by Robert E. "Pete" Petersen, Motor Trend quickly rose to prominence
as the world's #1 automotive authority, a position it continues to hold today.
    The 50th Anniversary celebration will encompass numerous festivities
during 1999, many integrated with important automotive events like the
Monterey Historic Races, Pebble Beach Concours, and Motor Trend's own Motor
Trend Thunder Series, which combines historic car racing, car shows, R/C
racing and go-karts with family activities over several days.
    Motor Trend will also host three special gala anniversary parties in New
York, Detroit, and Los Angeles to mark the publication of the actual September
1999 collector's edition 50th anniversary issue.
    Commencing with the January 1999 issue, each Motor Trend will have a
special eight page anniversary section.  Also, a special edition poster, 50th
anniversary collectibles such as hats, golf shirts and jackets, a hard-bound
coffee table edition book, and decals will be issued.
    An integral part of the celebration is the magazine's associate
sponsorship of the Price Cobb CBR Racing team's Indy Racing League entry.  The
Infiniti-powered car will sport the number 50 to coincide with Motor Trend's
50th anniversary.  This sponsorship will be supported by a 50-stop touring
display.  In addition to stops at each IRL event during 1999, the traveling
display will make appearances at Infiniti retailers across America.  The
53-foot display trailer will include a Price Cobb IRL show car, as well as an
archival exhibit of milestone events in Motor Trend's 50-year history.  The
first appearance of the traveling display will be at the IRL's opening race,
the Disneyworld 200 on January 24, 1999.
    But, as much as the Anniversary year will celebrate past achievements, it
will anticipate the coming years as well.
    For one thing, Motor Trend's website, which averages 25 million hits per
month is expected to increase its volume significantly in 1999 as the site's
technology is upgraded to make it more interactive.
    Following the Petersen principle of identifying and defining new emerging
trends, Motor Trend will acquire or create additional complementary titles in
the next five years like Truck Trends, which has recently gone to a monthly
schedule after a successful pilot program.  Other appropriate titles are in
the offing.
    In January 1999 Motor Trend will expand its television presence on the
popular Speedvision cable network with the newest edition of Motor Trend
Television.
    And so it goes.  A half-century is a long time.  While few businesses, let
alone publications, survive to celebrate these anniversaries, Motor Trend is
already making plans and looking forward to 2049!