The contents of
Motor Trend magazines are divided up into sections, or departments.
Road tests Motor Trend magazine provides its readers with written "road tests" of vehicles. These road tests are published in each issue and are meant to give readers information about the featured vehicle, certain aspects of the vehicle, and what the readers can expect if the featured vehicle is purchased.
Vehicle comparisons There are two main types of
Motor Trend vehicle comparisons. Regular comparisons usually compare two to three vehicles, looking at what each is like to own, drive, etc. On
Motor Trends YouTube channel (titled "MotorTrend Channel"),
Motor Trend puts up their best comparison of the month on a series called "Head 2 Head," featuring
MotorTrend editors comparing cars on YouTube. "Big Test" comparisons typically feature anywhere from five to seven vehicles, all being compared against each other. In a way, a vehicle comparison is like a large road test featuring many vehicles, rather than just one.
The Trend The Trend provides readers with the latest what's happening in the automotive industry. This section may feature news about manufacturers, recalls, etc. "Newcomers" (recently redesigned or all-new models), along with short informative articles about them, can also be found in this section.
MotorTrend Garage Motor Trend keeps a fleet of long-term test cars at their headquarters in
Los Angeles, California. The majority of the
Motor Trend editors are each assigned a car, and their duty is to drive that car on a daily basis and report on what's happening. Each month, one to two new vehicles are added to the fleet, to replace the one to two vehicles leaving the fleet. Each long-term test lasts approximately one
calendar year. Not every vehicle receives a printed update each month, though the vehicles are still there. This section is typically located towards the end of the magazine.
Other features Other types of articles are sometimes featured in the
Motor Trend magazine. There is typically one special feature per month. For example, in one issue of the magazine, there may be a special feature about
Motor Trends "Real MPG" testing. For these tests,
Motor Trend measures the "real-world" fuel economy of a vehicle in a number of conditions, and then compares their results to the
EPA estimated fuel economy that manufacturers provide dealerships, who then provide it to their customers. ==
Motor Trend Car of the Year==