Ann Arbor MI--In a move that could threaten its role as the world's most widely read auto mag, Car and Driver has shocked readers and Wall Street alike by becoming the 2012 Presenting Sponsor of 24 Hours of LeMons, the world's most awful endurance race.
Car and Driver reaches 10 million enthusiasts per month and charges $125,000 for an ad page; it was recently purchased by publishing titan Hearst Magazines. LeMons puts $500 crapheaps and their equally valuable drivers on racetracks; it's been linked to a rise in divorce rates and skyrocketing Gremlin spare-parts prices.
Announced during a joint news conference at Okie Joe's Auto Recyclotron in Stockton CA, LeMons creator John 'Jay' Lamm said the deal "...brought unique marketing synergies to C/D by accessing such critically under-served demographics as Geo owners, tow-truck drivers, and the incarcerated." He then yoinked a giant novelty check from the hands of Editor-in-Chief Eddie Alterman and ran, cackling, to an idling getaway car.
Alterman sighed heavily and declined further comment. Other well-thought-out initiatives from the new C/D boss include investing in barn-find Ferraris on eBay Paraguay and creating a 40-page color supplement about Citroen hydropneumatic suspensions.
The 2012 season of 24 Hours of LeMons, Inexplicably Presented by Car and Driver launches with full-course endurance races at Texas World Speedway (Feb 11-12), Carolina Motorsports Park (March 3-4), Infineon Raceway (March 24-25), and New Jersey Motorsports Park (Apr 14-15). See the full schedule at www.24HoursofLeMons.com.
Key Points: 24 Hours of LeMons, Inexplicably Presented by Car and Driver
- Added coverage will help bring to justice the 30% of LeMons racers actively wanted by law enforcement.
- Car and Driver-staffed race teams will hone journalists' skills, reducing number of test cars crashed inside C/D parking garage.
- At end of '12 season, LeMons to leave handsome, oversized wooden horse outside C/D office as no-strings-attached parting gift.
