Autocar is a weekly British automobile magazine published by the Haymarket Media Group, for more than 125 years Autocar has been at the forefront of automotive journalism. Today, Autocar covers the entire car industry, from in-depth car reviews to global news stories that lead the automotive agenda.

The Origins of Autocar Magazine

Autocar refers to itself as “the world’s oldest car magazine” with the first-ever edition published on Saturday, 2nd of November, 1895. At this time, it is believed that there were only six or seven cars on United Kingdom roads. The publication was launched as The Autocar by Iliffe and Son Ltd “in the interests of the mechanically propelled road carriage”.

Autocar has been consistently published throughout its entire history with the only interruptions to the schedule being due to strikes in the 1970s. The magazine’s name was changed from The Autocar to Autocar at the start of 1962. In 1988, Autocar merged with the rival magazine Motor, putting an end to the battle on the newsstands that had been ongoing since 1903. As a result, the 7th of September, 1988 issue magazine became Autocar & Motor, although it was later reverted to Autocar for the 21st of September, 1994 issue.

Autocar in The Modern Day

Looking at Autocar today, not much has changed in terms of what they do but a lot has changed about how it is delivered. Unsurprisingly, Autocar has adapted extremely well to the modern world as much of their content now lives on the internet at Autocar.co.uk, one of the most trusted authorities in the automotive world, covering exclusive news content, and reviews of nearly every new car. Autocar has, however, kept to its roots and still offers subscribers physical copies of their magazines to this day.

The Autocar magazines of today are very recognisable, if you see a red and yellow themed magazine with a big picture of a car front and centre, without even looking at the logo you know it’s Autocar. Unlike the older editions of the magazine where each one was unique, every issue that is published now is fairly similar in terms of design. Autocar found a format that worked and has stuck with it ever since.

In July 2023, the Autocar Archives was announced, comprising more than 5,900 fully searchable issues dating back to 1895. Almost 130 years’ worth of content was documented and made available to subscribers via the website, serving as an important and ever-evolving historical record of the entire automotive industry. You can find out more about the Autocar Archives by clicking here.

Did You Find This Article Interesting?

If you found this article interesting, you might want to read our ‘Brand Focus – The Automobile Association (The AA)‘ article!

Did you know that The AA started as a small group of motoring enthusiasts that aimed to warn fellow drivers about police speed traps? Learn about the origins of the brand, discover how the iconic logo has evolved over the years and take a closer look at the very recent refresh of their brand identity. Click here to read the article!

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