Autocar magazine is to be given the most comprehensive revamp in its 118 year history along with a new title to reflect its usual content – Jaguar & Land Rover Future Model Plans Weekly.
‘We have realised the name ‘Autocar’ is misleading and suggests the magazine is about all sorts of cars rather than being mostly about the future model plans of Jaguar and Land Rover every week,’ admitted editorial director, Ed Itorialdirector. ‘Of course, we have made mistakes in the recent past such as accidentally putting a new Porsche 911 or Ford Focus on the cover which may have mislead readers into thinking there wasn’t a large feature about Jaguar and Land Rover future model plans inside. Even though, inevitably, there was. By changing the name to Jaguar & Land Rover Future Model Plans Weekly it makes it so much easier for us to make absolutely sure that the main cover story in every issue is about the future model plans of Jaguar and Land Rover. Although of course it usually is anyway.’
Sources inside the soon-to-be-ex-Autocar offices say that, despite the title change, many of the magazine’s regular features will continue, albeit in subtly tweaked form. So, for example, Steve Cropley’s Motoring Week will become Steve Cropley’s Motoring Week Of Thinking About Jaguar & Land Rover Future Model Plans, James Ruppert’s buying guides will evolve into James Ruppert’s buying guides (for cars Jaguar and Land Rover haven’t launched yet), and Colin Goodwin will front a new running feature in which he is forced at gunpoint to tunnel directly into Jaguar Land Rover’s Gaydon R&D centre to take a picture of something.
The first issue of Jaguar & Land Rover Future Model Plans Weekly will go on sale soon, although it will be quite hard to tell exactly when.