Shift! July 15, 2013

Overview

Don’t wait for stories to appear in the store when you can become a member of Wheelbase Media’s weekly news service and save more than 50 percent while gaining instant access to the new features as they’re produced. Click here to get started.

If you are not a member of the media, but still wish to read this and other feature stories from Wheelbase Media, visit www.shiftweekly.com to subscribe to Auto Shift Weekly newsmag, available for your Apple iPad or for your home PC or laptop in pdf format.

Use: Media professionals demanding automotive content on technology and vehicles designed to reduce pollution and save readers money.

What it is: The first “green” feature. One of our most popular new weekly features takes a look at the auto world from the unique perspective of fuel efficiency and technology as it relates to the environment, from hydrogen, hybrids, electric power and other alternative methods of propulsion. “Shift” is exactly that: a shift in thinking. What will the vehicle of tomorrow look like? Your readers can find out today in Shift. This predesigned module can be used as-is or reconfigured to fit just about any space.

Product specifications

Mac and PC page layout with accompanying text and art files for maximum work flexibility.
High-resolution artwork suitable for print.
Includes Photoshop layers file of main “Shift” art.
Multi-platform page layout opens with either Quark Xpress or Adobe Indesign.
Layout is 8″x13″, but can be reconfigured by your designer to fit most spaces.
PDF of layout included.
About 900 words: separate text file included.
Fonts are not included, but we attempt to stay with standard system fonts. If not, just change the fonts to match your style.

Topics Covered

VW XL1 wows London, Goodwood: The world’s most fuel-efficient production hybrid car, Volkswagen’s futuristic XL1, took to the streets of London, England, recently, while a second model made its way to the famed Goodwood Festival of Speed to take pride of place on the Volkswagen stand, and to run in the event’s famous hill climb. The two-seat diesel-electric hybrid apparently achieves 313 mpg and emits just 33.6 grams of carbon dioxide per mile. The ultra-frugal and super-aerodynamic XL1, now in limited production, is made largely of carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer, while its drivetrain melds a two-cylinder 0.8-liter diesel engine with an electric motor. To boost aerodynamics, it forgoes exterior mirrors in favor of small cameras that transmit exterior images to interior displays.

Please contact us to order this feature.

Rental Pony – The Octane Lounge – July 8, 2013

Overview

Description

Follow the automotive business long enough and everything that’s old becomes new again.
Since the reintroduction of the Chevrolet Camaro SS as a 2010 model, the old Ford-versus-Chevy “pony-car” wars have escalated to insane proportions, with the 2013 Chevrolet ZL1 and Ford’s Mustang-based Shelby GT500 leading the way. And for 2014 there will be an road-race-ready Camaro Z28 and an all-new 2015 Mustang is in the works.

Indeed, for muscle-car lovers, these are the good-old days and they just keep on getting better, or so it seems.

Please contact us to order this feature.

Drowsy driving? Java is no substitute for sleep – Full Throttle, July 8, 2013

Overview

Use: Media professionals looking to diversify their automotive readership with women authors who provide their views on a wide variety of topics.

What it is: Courtney Hansen, America’s favorite Garage Girl and the former host of The Learning Channel’s Overhaulin’ auto makeover show, a new-book author and the host of Spike TV’s weekend “Power Block,” has teamed up with Wheelbase Communications for this exclusive column. If you’re looking to build more regular readership and to bring more women into the pages of your print publication and Web pages with the help of a friendly and outgoing automotive celebrity, this bi-weekly column that alternates with our own Rhonda Wheeler is a must.

Product specifications

About 800-900 words; Word text file plus high-resolution art files for print and Web use.
Mac and PC layout with accompanying text and art files for maximum work flexibility.
High-resolution artwork suitable for print.
Coming soon! Multi-platform page layout that opens with either Quark Xpress or Adobe Indesign.

Description

Hands up if you have ever driven home exhausted. Or anywhere exhausted.
We’re all spending more time working — and playing — harder and it’s time usually deducted from what should be spent sleeping. Trading in those 40 winks has turned us into a society of (cue intro dramatic music here) Drowsssssy Driverrrrrrrrs.

Please contact us to order this feature.

550 Spyder – Legends, July 15, 2013

Overview

Description

The Porsche 550 Spyder established the German automaker as a legitimate constructor of performance street cars. After years of converting the cute little 356 model (above) for racing duty, Ferdinand Porsche set out to construct a purpose-built competition car, one that eventually found its way to the street and into infamy at the hands of movie star James Dean (right).

Please contact us to order this feature.

The Auto Sleuth – July 8 , 2013

Overview

Use: Voted the best automotive news column available: you need it.

What it is: If you could have only one automotive feature, this should be it. At Wheelbase Communications, we’ve chosen to stay away from providing an automotive-news column until we could do it in a non-traditional way. And here it is: the Auto Sleuth. Our worldly gumshoe has his ear to the ground, digging up the latest news on everything from product launches and updates to names in the news. The column is solely driven by reader interest. No boring statistics or auto-company pap here, just the straight goods peppered with the Auto Sleuth’s commentary and speculative, gossipy-style.

Product specifications

Mac and PC print layout with separate text and art files for maximum work flexibility.
High-resolution artwork suitable for print.
Multi-platform layout opens with either Quark Xpress or Adobe Indesign.
Layout is 8×16 inches (newspaper), but can be reconfigured by your designer to fit most spaces.
PDF of layout included.
About 850 words: separate text file included.
Fonts are not included, but we attempt to stay with standard system fonts. If not, just change the fonts to match your style.

Please contact us to order this feature.

Deciding on your new driveway – AutoKnow, July 8, 2013

Overview

Use: Media professionals demanding a variety of automotive topics for broader readership.

What it is: Diversity matters. An automotive print product or Web site largely based on new-vehicle reviews is missing an enormous readership. Auto Know gives us the latitude to explore fantastic auto-related stories outside the realm of mere reviews. Whether it’s about how surround sound is engineered into a vehicle, European cars that will land on our shores, or knowing when it’s time to throw in the towel on your old beater, Auto Know is the perfect tool to capture new readers. . . with solid, interesting stories.

Product specifications

Mac and PC page layout with accompanying text and art files for maximum work flexibility.
Layout is 8×21.5 inches (newspaper), but can be reconfigured by your designer to fit most spaces.
PDF of layout included.
About 800-900 words; separate Word text included if you don’t want to use the supplied layout.
Artwork resolution (200-250 dpi) is high enough for print use.
Includes Photoshop layers file of main art.
Multi-platform page layout opens with either Quark Xpress or Adobe Indesign.
Fonts are not included, but we attempt to stay with standard system fonts. If not, just change the fonts to match your style.

Description

Bart Tragesser remembers a time not long ago when a driveway decision was as easy as black and white: asphalt or concrete? What’s your pleasure?

These two surface staples still rule new driveway construction. But creative competition among installers has transformed a mundane route from the street to the garage into a personalized and beautiful gateway to the home.

Please contact us to order this feature.

Top Gear – July 15, 2013

Overview

Use: Media professionals demanding top-quality automotive content for print/Web. Professional artwork, editing.

What it is: What’s new, what’s hot! Wheelbase Communications is committed to broadening readership (getting non-traditional auto-section readers into your publication/Web pages) and creating as much revenue potential as possible. Top Gear focuses on the aftermarket by telling your readers what’s new and what’s cool. This column includes four items per week as well as prices (where possible) and Web site addresses.

Product specifications

Mac and PC page layout with accompanying text and art files for maximum work flexibility.
High-resolution artwork suitable for print.
Includes Photoshop layers file of main art.
Multi-platform page layout opens with either Quark Xpress or Adobe Indesign.
Layout is 8×21.5 inches (newspaper), but can be reconfigured by your designer to fit most spaces.
PDF of layout included.
About 850 words: separate text file included.
Fonts are not included, but we attempt to stay with standard system fonts. If not, just change the fonts to match your style.

Please contact us to order this feature.

Ransom E. Olds – July. 15, 2013

Overview

Use: Media professionals demanding top-quality automotive content for print/Web.Professional artwork, editing.

What it is: Cars are nothing without the people who create them and those who own, collect and preserve them. Profiles is designed to bring prominent, interesting car people to your readers’ attention. Fun, informative and masterfully designed, like most Wheelbase features, Profiles comes to you as a Quark Xpress/Adobe InDesign module that is completely editable for any space within your print pages or automotive Web site.

Product specifications

Mac and PC page layout with accompanying text and art files for maximum work flexibility.
High-resolution artwork suitable for print.
Includes Photoshop layers file of main art, where applicable.
Multi-platform page layout opens with either Quark Xpress or Adobe Indesign.
Layout is 8×21.5 inches (for newspaper use), with some depth variation from week to week, but can be reconfigured by your designer to fit most spaces.
PDF of layout included.
About 850 words: separate text file included.
Fonts are not included, but we attempt to stay with standard system fonts. If not, just change the fonts to match your style.

Description

Geneva, Ohio is not celebrated in the same respect as Detroit is for being the birthplace of Henry Ford and the automobile. Or even the way Ellis, Kan., is for being the boyhood home of Walter P. Chrysler.

Located on the southern edge of Lake Erie, and in only a few square miles of space, the biggest thing about Geneva is the Annual Grape JamBoree, a fall harvest that’s held the last full weekend in September and culminates in the crowning of Miss Grapette.

Please contact us to order this feature.

2000-’09 Saleen S7 – FineLines July 15, 2013

Overview

Use: Media professionals demanding top-quality automotive content for their print products and/or Web sites. Professional artwork, editing.

What it is: Many of you asked if we could put our expertise to work to create a feature that covers not just classic cars, but those vehicles that have left an indelible mark on car culture. The Fine Lines series examines significant vehicle marques, their backgrounds and their contributions to the history of the automobile. All this, with real artwork.

Product specifications

Mac and PC page layout with accompanying text and
art files for maximum work flexibility.
About 850 words: separate text file included.
Layout is 8×21.5 inches (newspaper), but can be
reconfigured by your designer to fit most spaces.
PDF of layout included.
High-resolution artwork suitable for print.
Includes Photoshop layers file of main art.
Multi-platform page layout opens with either Quark
Xpress or Adobe Indesign.
Fonts are not included, but we attempt to stay with
standard system fonts. If not, just change the fonts to
match your style.

Description

During the slow afternoons, known in Modena, Italy, as l’ora del riposo, Enzo Ferrari’s legacy lives on in the coffee bars and balsamic vinegar companies on Viale Virgilio. So do Lamborghini, Pagani and Maserati. They are living legends.
Saleen?

Please contact us to order this feature.

WordSearch July. 15, 2013

Overview

Description

Use: Interactive content for media professionals looking to bolster recurring readership and increase the amount of exposure time for their products, whether print or Web.

What it is: Why are auto publications so dry and so serious? We’re living proof that car nuts have a sense of humor and want to have a little sugar on their Corn Flakes. Your readers will have fun with the “Driver ’s Seat” Word Search as they unearth people, places and events. Driver ’s Seat is just one step in making your auto product more interactive, which provides more exposure for advertisers and more revenue for all.

Product specifications

Due to the highly complicated graphic nature of this product, we do not yet offer a version that can be played online. Instead, visitors to your Web site can print out the crossword and play it at their leisure. Vote yes to having a playable online verion by clicking here.
High-resolution 300 dpi jpg CMYK file suitable for print and Web.