New York, NY (September 16, 2015) – Amid a record-breaking year for US and worldwide car sales, fueled by a resurgence in purchasing and intent to buy among young adults, Time Inc. today debuted The Drive (www.thedrive.com), a new franchise devoted to cars and car culture. Led by a world-class editorial team, The Drive will be distinctive for its fresh editorial perspective that is informed by the rapidly changing automotive landscape. Today’s digital debut is the first step in The Drive’s multi-platform rollout. Later this fall, Time Inc. will cut the ribbon on a state-of-the-art multipurpose showroom located at Industry City in Brooklyn, NY. The showroom will serve as the backdrop for The Drive’s video production and under-the-hood style editorial features, and it will showcase the hottest new cars.

 

The Drive is the first brand incubated by The Foundry, a content and creative collective recently organized by Time Inc. to develop new products and offer next-generation marketing solutions to stand alongside independent, premium storytelling. This approach represents a new way of meeting marketers’ stated desire for even more ways to work with Time Inc. experts from the ground floor in the creative process.

 

“The launch of The Drive is the culmination of a collaborative process that leveraged our expertise in creating premium content with technology and the insight of our marketing partners to build a new Time Inc. business,” said Mark Ford, Time Inc. Executive Vice President, Global Advertising. “This is the first of many new businesses that will be built by The Foundry.”

 

“I can’t imagine a better time to launch a brand like The Drive,” says Matt Bean, Time Inc. SVP, Editorial Innovation. “We’re immersing ourselves in the automotive lifestyle, taking readers along for the ride as we chronicle everything from frame-up builds in Brooklyn to far-flung vignettes with cinematic storytelling and visuals.”

 

The automotive industry is a $3 trillion global behemoth that is in transition. It touches virtually every aspect of business and culture. The Drive is the only site that will cover this transition for both hard-core enthusiasts and the casual driver. Boasting a staff of award-winning storytellers, The Drive will report on products and personalities, pioneers and cutting-edge technology, and it will cover a broad swath of the business, from the latest news to the most important launches to analysis of pivotal industry trends.

 

Last month, Bean and The Drive Editor Mike Guy announced a dynamic editorial team that combines unparalleled industry expertise and visionary storytelling with an irreverent, adventurous spirit. On launch day, viewers can expect Lawrence Ulrich’s incisive dissection of the great car rivalries and several new car reviews; racing great Mario Andretti’s first-person piece on the day he won the F1 championship and lost his best friend; profiles of MLB All-Star pitcher CJ Wilson, who is an Ayrton Senna fanatic and McLaren customer, and an interview with Kevin Bacon about cop cars, among many others. The same week, investigative writer Brett Forrest explores the car shopping underground in Bahrain, and the site embarks on the best oyster road trip in America, chases down the best fireworks stand in the world, and sits down with CEOs of several car companies to discuss everything from their favorite bespoke shoemaker to the future of autonomous driving. In addition, The Drive will offer up-to-the-minute news and analysis with its daily “Drive Wire,” a hosted video version of rip-and-read news reports and analysis broadcast from the new showroom studio.

 

“Our working manifesto is that in today’s world, cars equal life,” says Guy. “Whether the topic is the electronic car space changing the way we build, power and sell cars; a debate over which crossover you should buy; or where to go in Sonoma County if you feel a sudden need for a road trip, along the way, we’re going to disrupt things in our own way.”

 

The world is hungry for fresh auto coverage, and Time Inc. has a proven track record of creating compelling content. The Drive will deliver powerful content to this audience while also developing powerful marketing solutions for our advertising partners. Launch sponsors for The Drive are Volvo, Pennzoil and GM Buy Power Card.

 

“Cars are an essential part of everyday life, and we believe The Drive’s approach to storytelling will bring an important, but rarely discussed, part of daily life into the mainstream discussion, where it belongs,” said Bodil Eriksson, Executive Vice President of Product, Marketing & Communication for Volvo Cars of North America. “We look forward to working with The Drive team in developing stories that define Volvo and the transformative change happening in both American culture and the car industry.”

 

To learn more about The Drive go here, here, here and here.

 

 

 About Time Inc.  

Time Inc. (NYSE:TIME) is one of the world’s leading media companies, with a monthly global print audience of over 120 million and worldwide digital properties that attract more than 140 million visitors each month, including over 60 websites. Our influential brands include People, Sports Illustrated, InStyle, Time, Real Simple, Southern Living, Entertainment Weekly, Travel + Leisure, Cooking Light, Fortune and Food & Wine, as well as more than 50 diverse titles in the United Kingdom, such as Decanter, Horse & Hound and Wallpaper*. Time Inc. is home to celebrated franchises and events, including the Fortune 500, Time 100, People’s Sexiest Man Alive, Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Year, the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, the Essence Festival and the biennial Fortune Global Forum. Hundreds of thousands of people attend our events every year. We have been extending the power of our brands through various investments and acquisitions, including the formation of Sports Illustrated Play, a new company devoted to youth and amateur sports, and the acquisition of inVNT, a company that specializes in live media. We also provide content marketing, targeted local print and digital advertising programs, branded book publishing and marketing and support services, including subscription sales services for magazines and other products, retail distribution and marketing services and customer service and fulfillment services, for ourselves and third-party clients, including other magazine publishers.

 

 About Volvo Cars of North America 

Volvo Cars of North America, LLC, (VCNA) (www.volvocars.com/us) is a subsidiary of Volvo Car Group of Gothenburg, Sweden. With a stellar reputation for safety, the company’s vision is that no one should be killed or seriously injured in a new Volvo by the year 2020. Over the next three years, Volvo Cars will introduce 14 new cars that are built around Volvo’s unique idea of luxury, unparalleled safety and electrification through plug-in hybrid technology. For more information about Volvo Cars of North America, please refer to the media website at: http://www.media.volvocars.com/us.

 

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 CONTACT:

Scott Novak

scott.novak@timeinc.com

 

212.522.2687