Tim Pollard is CAR magazine’s Group Digital Editorial Director and specialises in writing automotive news, car reviews, buying advice and motoring commentary.
He has worked at the title, on and off, for 17 years and oversees the website editors at parent company Bauer Media’s automotive group – regularly contributing to the mag and our sister website, the car-buying bible Parkers.
Tim started work in daily newspapers and trade magazines in the late 1990s, but quickly worked his way into motoring mags, running the newsdesk at Autocar and then switching to become Deputy Editor at What Car? before joining CAR in 2006. ‘CAR is one of the world’s most respected motoring titles and I grew up reading the likes of LJK Setright, Gavin Green and Russell Bulgin on the pages of CAR in the 1980s and ’90s,’ he says. ‘We aim to keep that spirit alive today – giving our readers thoughtful, provocative writing, trusted verdicts, plus sharp design and world-class photography to make CAR stand out from the opposition.’
When he’s not strapped to his keyboard, Tim finds time to help run the British Society of Magazine Editors, plays a lot of hockey and can be spotted from time to time on national TV and radio doing automotive punditry. He has picked up a few awards over the years, including BSME Editor-in-chief/Editorial Director of the Year (2021), the PPA’s Digital Innovation of the Year (2016) and the Guild of Motoring Writers’ Editor of the Year (2016) and Journalist of the Year (2007) – and even set a Guinness World Record in 2011.
What does he make of the current crop of cars? ‘I think Hyundai and Kia are doing great work in the mainstream, Polestar is the stand-out EV start-up of recent years, though it’s now being challenged by the wave of Chinese brands, and I still lust after the straight six charms of a Porsche Cayman. It’s such a fascinating time of change in the automotive arena and we’re here to make sense of it all for our readers.’
You can follow Tim’s exploits in cars on his Twitter and Instagram accounts or his Linkedin profile – and read his latest articles on CAR’s website in the list below.