Our Shiny New Model

WE CRITICIZE AUTO MAKERS FOR NOT freshening their lineups often enough, so after five years with the same graphic design, it's about time we did some freshening of our own.

Welcome to the latest iteration of Ward's AutoWorld, a new design that we hope you will find more inviting than ever.

The main goal of our effort, under the direction of Senior Art Director Adrienne Janhevich, is to provide an uncluttered platform that you will find easy to read and simple to use.

Among the changes will be more of what we call “exit points.” These blurbs at the end of stories will direct you to related features and information on the award-winning WardsAuto.com, the most sophisticated and comprehensive automotive industry site on the Web.

There you will find breaking news, feature stories and data on every aspect of the auto industry.

WardsAuto.com was named the “Best Premium Site” in the 2007 “Best of the Web” awards competition conducted by MIN and MIN's B2B magazine, the second time in three years the site has landed the top award.

More than 250,000 employees of major auto makers and suppliers around the world have access to WardsAuto.com via subscription licenses. Some of the information is available free, but if you work at General Motors, Ford, Chrysler in North America, or any number of major suppliers, you are entitled to the vast premium section as well.

We're emphasizing our online capabilities because Ward's AutoWorld is not just a monthly magazine. It is a conduit to some of the auto industry's most powerful print and electronic information tools.

That's because we're part of the Ward's Automotive Group, a family of publications and data services. It includes the statistical news weekly Ward's Automotive Reports, the authoritative bi-monthly Ward's Engine and Vehicle Technology Update and the monthly Ward's Dealer Business. We're also the world leader in sales and production statistics. Even the Federal Reserve relies on our extensive data to help shape its economic forecasts.

We have a staff of some of the most knowledgeable automotive journalists and data analysts in the business, plus more than a dozen correspondents scattered throughout the world. Every day, they break important stories that are found nowhere else.

As these varied resources converge on WardsAuto.com and within the pages of Ward's AutoWorld, they will give you an understanding of the global automotive industry that is unmatched.

Ward's AutoWorld will continue to deliver the forward-looking, in-depth analysis of news and trends you expect, and all the pointed commentary, too. And we'll continue to cover all the bases related to electronics, safety, product technology and everything else. We want our readers to have access to so much more. We want Ward's AutoWorld to be your guide to the many tiers of the Ward's franchise.

But the redesign still is a work in progress. We want your feedback. Go ahead and kick the tires and tell me what you think. I'm at: [email protected].