My dad gave me my a subscription to Car & Driver when I was just nine years old. Every year after, I would save up money made doing chores just to re-up that subscription. The magazine meant enough to me I even saved almost six years of issues before my mom made me throw the lot of them away. I remember crying when she made me toss them. It was, I'm sure, like that for many other Jalopnik readers. Well, maybe not the teary-eyes part.

But, like many of us here at Jalopnik, we found, at some point between now and then, the buff book we once loved became tarnished, losing that magical shine. I stopped reading it regularly almost a decade ago, now only picking it up in airports or when I see a friendly name on the cover.

Until today. You see, we haven't heard much good news these days. The Carpocalypse has seemingly consumed almost everything we cover. Which is why we're actually joyfully shocked to be announcing Eddie's appointment.

Just as proudly, our sources at Hachette inform us that Jalopnik, by highlighting Eddie, and highlighting the painful misstep of a pretender to the throne of the auto buff books, played a major role in getting Alterman's name in front of the right people. But we feel confident it was Eddie who took it from there.

Eddie's a man who we consider to be a friend. But more importantly to the task at hand, Eddie has the strength of ideas necessary to restore Car & Driver to the top of the auto buff book food chain. Which is why our warmest wishes go out to Eddie AltermanI'll be signing up for a subscription again because I want to see what Eddie does to the place — but also because I hope to one day have the same feelings I once felt when I received my copy of Car & Driver in the mailbox each month.

Why is Eddie so great? In a changing media environment he's one of the few people who has found success in car mags, newspapers and online. He isn't just familiar with the automotive community online, as so many frightened buff book editors claim to be, he's actually helped establish Motive as a player in the new media world of car journalism. For instance, he knows how to properly credit stories to websites, a basic skill few on the other side of the media world understand. Car & Driver and CarAndDriver.com currently function as two separate organizations to the detriment of both the publication and its readers. Eddie can bring them together where they belong.

Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. Names Eddie Alterman Vice President, Editor In Chief of Car and Driver

New York, N.Y. (February 25, 2009) - Alain Lemarchand, President and
CEO, Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. (HFM U.S.) announced today that
Eddie Alterman has been named Vice President, Editor In Chief of Car
and Driver. Alterman will report to Lemarchand will begin his new
position on Monday, March 2, 2009. HFM U.S. Group Editorial Director
John Owens has served as acting editor in chief since Csaba Csere's
departure two months ago.

"We are fortunate to have Eddie Alterman joining us as the editorial
head of one of our largest and most important brands. He is a
respected journalist and has extensive experience in automotive both
in print and digital content. He and John Driscoll, Vice President,
Publisher Automotive Group, will make a great team," said Lemarchand.
"We're confident that Alterman and his group will be able to create
outstanding content that will accelerate the growth of the brand by
enlarging the audiences of automotive enthusiasts as well as consumers
who look to Car and Driver and CarandDriver.com for credible advice
and reviews when they are buying a car."

In 2006, Alterman was founder and Editor In Chief of Motivemag.com, an
online car magazine combining original editorial and user-generated
content. Before that Alterman founded and served as Editor In Chief
of MPH's magazine and website. He also coordinated advertising and
marketing effort for print and online and was named one of Crain's
Detroit Business's "40 Under 40" young leaders. Alterman worked for
Men's Journal and began writing the magazine's car column and
automotive feature stories from 2006 to present. During his tenure
with Automobile, he developed and supervised the brand's web site and
maintained writing, editing, and custom-publishing responsibilities.

About Car and Driver

Car and Driver's expert editorial team is recognized by car
enthusiasts and automotive manufacturers as credible journalists who
practice to the highest standards. The magazine is published by
Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. twelve times each year delivering an
audience of over 11 million readers monthly (source: MRI Fall 2008).
With a circulation of 1.3 million copies (ABC Jan-June 2008), Car and
Driver is the world's largest monthly automotive magazine. The
magazine is a leading publication for in-market buyers, and the Car
and Driver brand extends to many platforms including a web site,
mobile site, radio, custom marketing programs and an integrated
marketing database. CarandDriver.com
relaunched last year with an easy-to-search format for the consumer
which combines Car and Driver's credible car reviews with improved
searchability and tools for people who are in the market to buy a car.
CarandDriver.com's advertising is sold by Jumpstart Automotive Media,
an HFM U.S. company.

Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. (www.hfmus.com
) enthusiast brands and targeted media products reach nearly 60
million consumers through magazines, online and mobile content. The
company's editorial hallmarks are trusted expert content along with
independent product testing. Our prestigious brands fall into five
sectors and include: Fashion (ELLE, ELLEgirl); Automotive (Car and
Driver, Road & Track, Jumpstart Automotive Media); The Luxury Design
Group (ELLE DECOR, Metropolitan Home, PointClickHome); Women & Health
(Woman's Day and Woman's Day Special Interest Group) and Enthusiasts
(American Photo, Boating, Cycle World, Flying, Popular Photography,
Premiere and Sound & Vision). HFM U.S. Total Solutions marketing
initiative packages these assets across brands and platforms with
customized marketing programs. HFM U.S. is part of Lagardère's
(www.lagardere.com) media division Lagardère Active, a producer of
special interest content in over 40 countries.

After yesterday's resignation of long-time Car & Driver chieftain Csaba Csere, it's important we get someone in the job of Editor-in-Chief over there who can help save the buffest of auto buff books, someone who can merge what car lovers want to read with what car engineers want to write. Most importantly, someone who can make us want to again read Car & Driver — and not just for the tiny bits and pieces lucky enough to make it through the editorial process.

Also, they've really got to merge the website with the magazine. This separation thing is getting silly. But whatever — Eddie's the man who can do it!

Next up: "Save The Buff Books" and "Save Car & Driver, Save The World" T-Shirts!

Photo / Graphic Credit: KORSdesign

We've been given no reason, but Csere has been in charge of Car and Driver since 1993 and with the magazine since 1980. Hachette will now be conducting a search for Csere's replacement.

UPDATE: The automotive pundictroacy is all atwitter about whether Car And Driver is looking to make the move out of Ann Arbor and out to sunny California to join their comrades at Road & Track. We've also learned Csaba may have taken issue with Hachette's desire to foster greater combining of assets with Road & Track in a bid to save money. We're still getting more and we'll share it when we've got it.

UPDATE 2: Hachette has issued an official press release about Csere's departure, its full text follows:

CSABA CSERE, VICE PRESIDENT, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, CAR AND DRIVER WILL BE

LEAVING HACHETTE FILIPACCHI MEDIA U.S. AT THE END OF THE YEAR

John Owens, Senior Vice President, Group Editorial Director for the Men’s Titles,
Named Acting Editor-in-Chief

New York City (December 16, 2008) – Alain Lemarchand, President & CEO, Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. (HFM U.S., www.hfmus.com) announced today that Csaba Csere, Vice President, Editor-in-Chief, Car and Driver, will be leaving the company at the end of the year. Senior Vice President, Group Editorial Director John Owens will be Acting Editor-in-Chief until a permanent replacement is named.

“Csaba is widely respected as one of the top authorities on cars and the automotive industry, making regular appearances on national television programs like The Today Show, NBC and CNN to comment on new models as well as the business of the automotive industry. We thank Csaba for his contributions at this magazine and wish him all the best in the future,” commented Lemarchand.

Car and Driver’s expert editorial team is recognized by car enthusiasts and automotive manufacturers as credible journalists who practice to the highest standards. The magazine is published by Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. (www.hfmus.com) twelve times each year delivering an audience of over 10 million readers monthly (source: MRI Fall 2008). With a circulation of over 1.3 million copies (ABC Jan-June 2008), the Car and Driver is the world’s largest monthly automotive magazine. The magazine is a leading publication for in-market buyers, and the Car and Driver brand extends to many platforms including websites, mobile sites, radio, custom marketing programs and an integrated marketing database.

[CarandDriver.com via Wonkette]

BMW 3-Series Cadillac CTS Chevrolet Corvette Chevrolet Malibu Honda Accord Honda Fit Mazda MX-5 MazdaSpeed3 Porsche Boxster / Cayman VW GTi

UPDATE: Car & Driver now has it up on their website.

Brock Yates is one of the more divisive figures in automotive journalism. In fact, we feel like a redundant dunce in even saying that, but whatever. Still, we were really shocked when Sweet Peet D. mentioned that Csaba Csere had let Yates go. To us, being thirtysomethings, Yates is more an icon of Car and Driver than David E. ever was. He was the magazine's mascot; he was one of the primary reasons we got into automotive writing. We didn't always agree with the cut of his jib, but we almost always found his words chewing on. His retort to Csere's May, 2006 C/D column posted on the One Lap site wasn't something we noticed 'til today, but we thought it was worth reposting. Check it after the jump.

"Let's set the story straight. Csaba Csere claims I took "early retirement" from Car and Driver. Here's the truth. He came to my home and fired me. He said I was too expensive. A few days later he made me a cheap alternative offer that I refused. My long tenure with the magazine is over. Kaput. A cheap shot that will not be forgotten. That's the way it happened."

Without Yates, Car and Driver has lost even more of the personality that has been slipping away from the magazine over the last year or two. And it's a shame, because it was hugely influential to us, and is still the gold standard for technical specs. Then again, we also hoped the Rolling Stones would never make Voodoo Lounge. YMMV.

A few words from Brock [One Lap of America]

Related:
Big Changes Afoot at Car and Driver [Internal]

10.9-second time in the quarter? Naught to sixty in 3.4 seconds? 427 cubic inches of aluminum Ford V-8 huffed by a couple of turbochargers? Hey, it's only 589 large. Csaba takes it for a spin and comes away impressed, but somehow, not as impressed as one should be when those specs are accounted for. Is The Csere just getting jaded? Or is there something at the S7 that's just not quite right? Because for nigh-on six-hundred-thousand dollars, it seems like it should inspire more spastically awesome prose from C/D's EIC.

Saleen S7 Twin Turbo [Car and Driver]

Related:
[Internal]

We just heard from Tony Swan over at C/D regarding the reduction of his role at the mag, which we reported on a couple of days back, mentioning that per Autoextremist, he was being pushed into early retirement. Swan replies:

Since you apparently picked up the Auto Extremist rant without bothering to check for accuracy, let me correct you on a detail or two. 1. I am not retiring. I plan to remain on the Car and Driver staff as a senior editor. 2. I was not pushed. As with John Phillips a few years back, I am merely stepping aside as exec. This move has been in the works for months. Thanks, Tony Swan

So there you have it, kids. Regardless of Swan/Csere/Hachette's motivations regarding his change in roles at the magazine, though, it's still somewhat of a dire time for American automotive print publishing. Thanks for the heads-up, Tony.

Related:
Big Changes Afoot at Car and Driver [Internal]

We'll admit that over the last couple of years, we haven't enjoyed Car and Driver or Automobile as much as we once did. With their young talent pools having been cherry-picked by David Pecker and his posse to put together mph and Dan Neil having filled his plate in Los Angeles, there's a certain spark that's missing. And while Primedia's cost-cutting measures are legendary (we recently heard an anecdote that a low-level editorial position at Hot Rod pays $15,000 a year less than it did two decades ago), Hachette, according to Sweet Peet D. is putting the screws to Csaba Csere to trim costs. What does this mean? It means, bye, Brock!

Now while we don't always agree with Brock Yates, and sometimes even vehemently disagree with him, we've always respected and admired the guy, and his on-again/off-again association with C/D over the years is one of the great love stories of writer and publication over the last four decades. Some might say Yates is old and out of touch; we say he's a link to the past, and for all of the teasing we've done to him, there are few men in this industry that we admire more. Bad swing of the hatchet, Hachette.

What's more, apparently longtime C/D staffer Tony Swan's been pushed into an earlier-than-planned retirement, and Automobile's Mark Gillies has been brought in as Csaba's Number Two. So where does this leave Automobile? Frankly, it gives the mag a chance to reinvent itself, which for all of its yearly redesigns, it hasn't truly managed to do in the last couple of years. We're curious to see how all of this shakes out in six months or so.

What's more, David E. Davis has a new mag in the works. Why? There are already too many car magazines. Do we really need another?

On the Table [Autoextremist, 2nd & 3rd items]

Related:
Calling Captain Chaos: Errors in the Cannonball Run [Internal]