History

The following section is an excerpt from Wikipedia's Automotive News page on 14 January 2025, text available via the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

The first issue of Automotive News was published under the name Automotive Daily News in New York on August 27, 1925, by Slocum Publishing, with George Slocum as its Detroit advertising manager. The chief backer of Automotive Daily News was Bernarr Macfadden.

In 1933, Slocum purchased the other investors' interests, moved the newspaper to Detroit, as well as switching to only publish on Wednesday and Saturday instead of five times a week. In June 1938 the Wednesday issue was discarded, and the June 4 issue was the first to use the name Automotive News. Slocum also reduced the subscription price from $6 to $4 per year. In 1939, he changed the publication day to Monday.

Circulation was 5,000 when Slocum moved the paper to Detroit. It grew to 12,000 at the commencement of World War II but fell to 8,748 during the war. During 1942–45, when there was no auto industry, Automotive News retained 73% of its circulation. From 1936, Pete Wemhoff served as the managing editor, editor, publisher, and general manager for the next 35 years.

Slocum Publishing Co. was purchased by Crain Communications in 1971. Keith Crain became the publisher and editorial director.

Automotive News is now a part of Crain Communications' Automotive News Group. Keith E. Crain is the Editor-in-Chief of Automotive News and Chairman of the Board of Crain Communications. Long-time publisher Jason Stein stepped down in 2021 and was replaced by KC Crain.

Article Index

Date	Article	Details
27 August 1925	Automotive News Briefs New Ford Angle	Automotive News Briefs (text & photo) Publication: Automotive Daily News Topic: Henry Ford
27 August 1925	EUROPE SPEEDS TIRE PRODUCTION Growing demand for American-made tires in many foreign countries and an increase in the foreign output are shown in cabled reports of tire production made public today by P.L. Palmerton, chief of the rubber division of the Department of Commerce.	News Article (text) Publication: Automotive Daily News Dateline: Washington, D.C.
27 August 1925	NEW FORD CARS COMBINE 'EYE' AND SERVICE APPEAL Body changes, more pronounced than any made since the adoption of the model T chassis, and numerous changes in the chassis itself, were announced here today by the Ford Motor Company, with prices remaining unchanged.	News Article (text) Publication: Automotive Daily News Dateline: Detroit, Michigan Topic: Ford Model T
27 August 1925	PENN CO. ASKS FULL PROBE OF ITS ACTIVITIES “The suit filed against the Penn Oil Company in connection with the alleged misuse of the name 'Mobiloil' is another attempt of the Standard Oil interests to discredit competition in the oil industry,” said Alvin L. Newmayer, attorney for the Penn Oil Company.	News Article (text) Publication: Automotive Daily News Dateline: Washington, D.C. Topics: Pennzoil, Mobil
27 August 1925	Price-Cutting War in Gasoline Spreads Further drastic reductions in the price of gasoline were forecast today as the important companies in the industry gave indications of continuing the spectacular price-cutting which has been in progress for some time.	News Article (text) Publication: Automotive Daily News Dateline: New York, New York
27 August 1925	RALPH B. DORT CONTESTS WILL Ralph Bates Dort, eldest son of the late J. Dallas Dort and one time advertising manager and foreign representative of the Dort Motor Car Company, has appealed his father's will, which was recently admitted to probate here.	News Article (text) Publication: Automotive Daily News Dateline: Flint, Michigan Topics: Ralph Bates Dort, J. Dallas Dort, Dort
27 August 1925	VACUUM CO. ANSWER “Here is our answer to the Penn Oil Company,” said F. W. Lovejoy, director of sales promotion for the Vacuum Oil Company, to the Automotive Daily News, as he pointed to a letter from the National Better Business Bureau.	News Article (text) Publication: Automotive Daily News Dateline: New York, New York Topics: Pennzoil, Mobil