TEN Publishing will be ending the print versions of nearly all of its car & truck magazines by the end of the year. The only magazines to survive the axing will be Motortrend, Hot Rod, and Four Wheeler. The list is quite shocking; many magazines that helped shape automotive cultures will no longer be around. Names like Lowrider, Car Craft, Muscle Mustangs & Fast Fords, Chevy High Performance, Mopar Muscle were considered bibles for their respective enthusiasts.
Here is the full list of magazines that will no longer be in print beyond 2020:
- 4-Wheel & Off-Road
- Automobile
- Car Craft
- Chevy High Performance
- Classic Trucks
- Diesel Power
- Hot Rod Deluxe
- Jp
- Lowrider
- Mopar Muscle
- Muscle Car Review
- Muscle Mustangs & Fast Fords
- Mustang Monthly
- Street Rodder
- Super Chevy
- Super Street
- Truck Trend
- Truckin’
- Vette
The online automotive media group, Jalopnik reached out to TEN Publishing Co. for a statement and received this in return:
“TEN Publishing Co. announced today that it will discontinue publishing 19 of its 22 automotive print titles by end of year. MotorTrend Group provides all of the editorial and sales support for those publications. At MotorTrend Group, we remain committed to providing our fans and advertisers quality automotive storytelling and journalism across all of our content platforms and we are doubling-down on our best-in-class digital product experiences, while maintaining our support of the three most popular, profitable and strategic brands across digital and print – MotorTrend, Hot Rod, and Four Wheeler.”
Folio Mag also obtained a memo that was sent to staffers at MotorTrend group last week:
“It was announced today that TEN Publishing will discontinue publishing 19 of its 22 automotive print titles by the end of the year,” wrote MotorTrend Group president and GM Alex Wellen in the memo. “I know this is difficult news, but I want to assure you that we remain committed to you and your pursuit to deliver quality automotive storytelling and journalism across all of our content platforms.”
MotorTrend Group, a joint venture formed in 2017 and majority owned by Discovery, Inc., comprises the digital and video businesses of the company formerly known as The Enthusiast Network, whereas TEN Publishing controls those brands’ print magazines. Under a licensing agreement, MotorTrend Group provides editorial and ad sales support to TEN, producing content for both MotorTrend Group’s digital platforms and TEN’s magazines.
The good news is that it seems that it seems that the magazines will continue online. Wellen continued with, “Tens of millions of fans visit MotorTrend’s digital properties every month, with the vast majority of our consumption on mobile, and 3 out of every 4 of our visitors favoring digital content over print.”
“While TEN Publishing will no longer print the following magazines,” “[MotorTrend Group] will continue to offer our audiences and advertisers digital coverage for these discontinued print titles online,” adding that subscribers to the shuttered magazines will be offered digital subscriptions to MotorTrend, Hot Rod or Four Wheeler.
So as the MotorTrend Grop doubles down on their online coverage for these magazines, it’s time for many of us print fans that loved the analog feeling of flipping through actual pages to get with the times as they say; grumpily we may add.
This is very sad news. John
I’d be willing to bet that most subscribers to the above titles, (I subscribe to 2) are older, and like to hold a print copy in hand. It’s also hard to carry our computer to the bathroom. I realize that the cost of hard copy publishing is a major factor, but it’s sad to see the end of an era that began more than 70 years ago.
Print media is outdated.
Print costs many times what digital media does, as well as uses up natural resources that are better used elsewhere.
Digital media is always available right there in your pocket, is easily searchable, and cheaper. It’s just better in all respects.
I guess being older I prefer a print copy. I have a file cabinet full of car magazines from the sixties through the nineties that I like to go back through. I subscribe to three of the titles that are being dropped.
This is very disappointing to me. Yes I am old school. I still have every magazine I have owned since 1962. I just renewed my subscriptions for 2 years in the summer to Hot Rod, Super Chevy, Chevy Performance, Street rodder, and Lowrider, I haven’t heard or read anything about getting a refund. I have in my garage 14 classic and muscle cars so I am a long time car guy. I guess I will have to go with the times, as I am getting a little more computer savy. I don’t think I have any spelling mistakes hear?
I’m old school…I like having a read in my hands I can move around with and not worry if my battery or wifi is out. rip printed word.
So very sad, to all you young people working at a firm that puts no value to the older experienced people that in this respect want a magazine in the mail box to page through, keep for future, pass along to friends. Like all our photo albums of past times that can be memory boards at our funerals. All you have is photos in your phones, or in a “cloud” You won’t have old magazines, old photos, no “paper” memories of the past. Just think twice before you all push “delete”…….