MotorTrend Channel

The HOT ROD Power Tour is one of America's longest-running open-road driving events, where thousands of hot rods and custom cars cruise together across multiple states over several days. MotorTrend and HOT ROD operate under the same media group, and the MotorTrend Channel actively promotes the tour — with the 2026 edition already announced on the channel.

4x4 Garage is a MotorTrend content series centered on off-road builds, four-wheel-drive trucks, and heavy-use vehicle projects — sitting alongside the channel's coverage of Four Wheeler content. It draws from the same crowd that engages with MotorTrend's #Jeep, #ToyotaTacoma, and #offroad posts, which rank among the channel's most consistently used hashtags.

Nvidia partnered with MotorTrend for YouTube sponsored content in 2025, a pairing that reflects Nvidia's major push into automotive AI — its DRIVE platform powers in-vehicle computing systems across numerous production cars. For MotorTrend's gearhead audience, that angle bridges traditional car enthusiasm with the EV and autonomous-tech coverage the channel has been expanding.

MotorTrend+ is the brand's subscription streaming platform, hosting full seasons of original shows, exclusive long-form reviews, and content not available on the free YouTube channel. The YouTube channel functions as a highlight reel and discovery funnel that points dedicated fans toward the deeper content library.

The MotorTrend Car of the Year is one of the most recognized honors in the automotive industry, awarded annually since 1949 to the vehicle that best meets criteria including performance, value, safety, efficiency, and design. Winning it carries real commercial weight — manufacturers routinely use the title in national advertising campaigns.

Yes — Mecum Auctions content appears regularly across MotorTrend's social posts and is a recurring hashtag theme, spotlighting classic cars, collector muscle cars, and rare American iron going under the hammer. It's a natural fit given that more than half of MotorTrend's audience is over 45, skewing toward the collector-car-minded viewer.

Drag racing is one of MotorTrend's most consistent content formats, typically pitting two performance or muscle cars against each other in quarter-mile shootouts to settle real-world comparisons. The #dragrace hashtag is among the channel's most frequently used, and these head-to-head videos tend to drive strong viewer engagement.

Yes — MotorTrend magazine, founded in 1949 and long considered a cornerstone publication of American car culture, is the editorial origin of the broader MotorTrend media group that now runs the YouTube channel, MotorTrend+, and related brands including HOT ROD and Four Wheeler. The YouTube channel is effectively the video publishing arm of that same legacy automotive brand.

MotorTrend's confirmed YouTube sponsors include Pennzoil, Toyota Motor, Ford Motor, Nvidia, and Holley — a mix covering engine lubricants, major OEM automakers, automotive AI tech, and aftermarket performance parts. Holley in particular is a natural partner given MotorTrend's muscle car and hot rod content, since Holley is one of the most recognized names in the American performance aftermarket.

MotorTrend covers the full spectrum, but trucks, muscle cars, off-road rigs, and classic American iron feature most prominently in its social content alongside European performance cars like Porsche. Recent channel posts have also covered newer territory including the Toyota GR GT, the Genesis Magma GT3 concept, and BMW's latest electrified SUV, reflecting a genuinely broad editorial remit rather than a single lane.