Autoweek is Reportedly Shutting Down

by Chris Teague

Published: August 27th, 2025

It’s another sad day for automotive journalism. After almost 70 years, it appears Autoweek has shut down. A post from a longtime writer for the publication recently stated that it shut down, “effective immediately,” marking the end of one of the industry’s most established outlets.

The Autopian reported the story after receiving a statement from Autoweek’s parent company, Hearst, which said the publication would “join the Motor Trend family of brands.” It also promised that it would continue publishing original content, though it’s unclear how that will look under the Motor Trend banner.

Hearst Corporation owns Car and Driver and Road and Track, and it recently acquired Motor Trend. Autoweek had a relatively heavy focus on motorsport and racing, so that could be where it lands in the Hearst portfolio going forward, but the disappearance of the Autoweek name is a significant loss in the automotive media landscape.

Autoweek had six full-time employees, only two of whom moved to Motor Trend. The other four were laid off. Originally a print magazine, the company shifted to an online-only format in 2019, losing much of its luster in the process. I worked for Autoweek back in 2023, and I’m sad to see it go, even if it had fallen far from its former glory in recent years.

[Images: Premio Stock via Shutterstock.com, Ford]

#Autoweek #hearstcorporation #AutomotiveMedia

Chris Teague

Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.

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Wjtinfwb on Aug 28, 2025

I stumbled into AutoWeek in the early 80s, picking up print editions at a local newsstand. After a while I subscribed. Satch Carlson was a lead writer for them at the time, if I recall he had a odd affinity for Lotus's and refereed to them like we refer to Toyota's, not the incredibly odd, fragile and rare cars they were, even then. Denise McCluggage and Leon Mandel were also frequent contributors. It was primarily focused on Motorsport and had more coverage than the big rags. Recent years it had become a version of the other Hearst magazines and largely irrelevant.

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Frank on Aug 29, 2025

Autoweek? I am still missing Left lane news!

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