BCT Publishing announced the re-launch of Automotive Traveler magazine with a 100-page November 2010 issue. The online-only monthly publication targets automotive and travel enthusiasts seeking the next great road trip. It uses a proprietary technology to produce a viewer that works with any browser, on any device and is fast and expandable as new technologies emerge. After publishing four award-winning, quarterly issues, three years ago, parent company BCT Publishing LLC of Scottsdale, Arizona, decided the magazine was just a bit ahead of its time. Now, editorial director Richard Truesdale says, “Some estimates say more than 20 million tablet PCs will be sold in the next 12 months – and with our versatile platform, we plan to be participants.”
Writers searching for new outlets may want to check out the burgeoning auto magazine market in Singapore. Cheryl Tay lists more than a dozen English language outlets (three added this year) in her Updated: Automotive 
Journalism Scene in Singapore. Click here for her listing with descriptions and contact information. . . . Denise McCluggage will launch her new www.denisemccluggage.com around Thanksgiving. The Tuesday Car Table site planned with her New Mexico car cronies she regularly lunches with when in town never got beyond the menu. So as usual, she is striking out on her own to share her thoughtful take on the intertwining of her life and autos.
Dr. Robin Segal, a self-described automobile non-enthusiast, was recently appointed new cars editor at www.bellaonline.com, a website by and for women. According to the announcement, “Segal joins the ranks of automotive journalism with her weekly articles for people who need, but do not love, cars.” . . . Real Times Media and Who’s Who Publishing are producing “DRIVEN: A Tribute To African American Achievement in the Automotive Industry.” Award-winning auto journalist Warren Brown will pen the introduction.
A post in The NewsCloud Blog, which is sponsored by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and provides social media software solutions for Facebook, posts: “With Facebook’s native applications for photos, email, events and groups already in place, a built-in news application is inevitable. Such an application would help Facebook take on Google News and further broaden its walled garden of content. Unfortunately, a Facebook News application will not bode well for media companies. Suddenly, Facebook will funnel news to you from a variety of sources based on data it already knows about you and your friends. Whereas Google News (theoretically) knows little about you until you personalize it, Facebook knows your demographic, your interests, stories and pages you’ve liked, your friends and news they’ve read, liked and commented on. Readers 
won’t realize they’re consuming news from an echo chamber designed by Facebook’s feed algorithm. The role of editors to curate important stories will be diminished.” Some ways news organizations can prepare for this future are offered in this same post.
Sam Moses has recast his www.newcarsnark.com to be short on copy and long on photos when available. Those from his Land Rover Colorado Adventure, shot by truly intrepid photog Gunnar Conrad are enough to thrill flatlanders without inflicting the chills of trekking high mountain trails.